Roses and Dragons
by SaphireGoddess57
Summary: A whirlwind of mysterious lies and mysterious pasts, unwanted bonds and unwanted parents. Hermione and Draco are thrown together in this new whirlwind of their life, forced to flee to survive. Two worlds crash and combine creating something new.
1. Seeing His Soul

**Disclaimer:** I solemnly swear that I do not own any part of the Harry Potter books in any way, shape, or form...happy now?

* * *

**A.N:** Okay everybody this is my first fanfiction story! Tell me if you like it! 

_3/24/06-- Well, first of all I started writing this story before **HBP** so none of that exists in R&D. Second of all, this is my first fanfic story and I've come back and read some of it and the beginning is definitely not up to my standards, but please read and review because it **does** get unbelievably better, I promise._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Seeing His Soul **

* * *

_Finally_, Hermione thought. Her nightly patrol with Malfoy was over. _All I want to do is go to bed and get away from him._ Malfoy was insulting her again. She tried to ignore it as always. _Why does he always have to bother me?_ Suddenly Hermione was even more tired than before. She was tired of Malfoy always insulting her and her friends. She was tired of having to always be the strong one and ignore him, as well as hold her friends back. For once she wanted to explode and let go just like that time in 3rd year, 3 long years ago. _No, not this time. Malfoy was going to stop. Where does he get off hurting peoples' feelings so much?_ As much as she tried to ignore the insults she couldn't help but feel hurt. Hermione reached the top of the steps and whirled around to Malfoy's smirking face. Obviously he was in the middle of saying something hurtful to her again. 

"You know what Malfoy, I hate you! I loathe you! I try to be civil but no, you always have to go out of your way to insult me and my friends about things you have no idea about!" Draco opened his mouth to retort.

"No Malfoy," Hermione yelled forcefully, "for once I am going to finish what I have to say to you!" Draco closed his mouth in surprise.

"You have no clue what it's like to muggleborn, no clue what it's like not to have as much money as others, and certainly no clue what it's like to be Harry." Hermione's voice went back down a fierce whisper. "What makes you so special Malfoy? What have you done? Nothing, unless you count making peoples' lives miserable, which you get some sort of sick pleasure out of." Hermione gave an angry glare at Malfoy then sighed. "But you don't do you," she stated, some of the fierceness in her voice fading, "get some sort of pleasure out of it, I mean." Hermione gave a slight shade of her head, looking away. "I know that you're hiding things all the time; things that no one knows about. So you go and put up this elaborate façade and take it out on everybody else." Hermione looked at him, her stare hard. "You may have everyone fooled, thinking you're the same spoiled rich kid from 1st year, but this year was different. _I know_ it wasn't the same." Hermione paused, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Draco kept his stare blank as he gazed at her with cool indifference. _Stupid Mudblood. Why does she all of a sudden have to go from 'Ms. Know-it-all, bookworm' Granger, to 'Ms. Know-all-about-Malfoy' Granger. She of all people just has to try to look past the infamous 'Malfoy façade' to try and give me a 'chance'. After the hell I put her through, she's giving me a chance. _Draco ignored the foreign feeling of guilt rising in side of him. Draco shuddered. Malfoys are not supposed to feel guilty, much less feel unworthy. He met her eyes that were still gazing at him expectantly. Draco lifted an eyebrow and smirked. He walked up the stairs towards her knowing his 'chance' was going down the drain with it by bringing up the only thing he knew still got to her. Why couldn't he stop? Draco paused inches away from her face. This was just how it was. How it had to be.

"So let me get this straight." Hermione's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He was using that arrogant, cocky, 'I'm-incapable-of-sounding-innocent' voice. Draco continued, leaning against the banister. "You hate me, everything thing about me." He put on a confused face. "That's funny I could have sworn you absolutely adored the way I kiss. I believe the word was...Wow?"

* * *

_Earlier this year… _

Draco stood fuming in a deserted hallway, cloaked in a concealment charm. He should have known better than to play Truth or Dare with Theo when he was in a vengeful mood. So a few days ago Draco had played one lousy prank on Theo causing him to spend the rest of the day around the common room with purple hair twirling like a ballerina every time someone asked him about it… but still, under no circumstances did Draco deserve _this_. Who knew one little game of Truth or Dare could go so very wrong.

Draco flattened himself closer to the wall as he heard the sound of footsteps begin to echo down the hall. _And why did it have to be magical Truth or Dare?_ There was no way to get out of this without even worse repercussions. Draco gave a small smirk. At least the look on their faces would be absolutely priceless.

Draco tensed, seeing his prey. The Golden Trio had appeared in hall and was getting closer to him. The plan was already set in motion. He would grab Granger, and before the other two had a clue what was going on, Theo and Blaise would whisper a mild body bind spell.

Draco held his breath. _Just one foot closer…_ Harry stopped walking, frowning slightly.

"Does something feel… _strange_ to you guys? Draco held back the urge to groan. _Damn Potter and his stupid 'Potter senses'. I guess I'll have to come to her. _Without warning, Draco stepped away from the wall, and strode over to Hermione, snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Unable to see what was going on because of the concealment charm, Hermione eyes widened in confusion, before his mouth covered hers. Draco's lips moved against Hermione's slowly, gently, but firm, without a hint of hesitation. Hermione's eyes fluttered closed as she gave a small gasp. Draco took advantage, deepening the kiss. The world around them faded with only the slight sound of struggling in the background. Hermione's mind reeled as logic seemed to float away with every soft caress of this stranger's lips. She gave a soft sigh, lost in the feeling, her own lips involuntarily beginning to move against his. Slowly, she felt him smirking, before gradually pulling away.

"Wow," Hermione whispered, breathlessly, her eyes till closed, her mind still reeling. As smirking lips gave one last brief brush against hers, reality came crashing back down. Hermione's eyes fluttered open once more, meeting pools of cool, glinting grey. Hermione felt a hot blush rise to her cheeks.

"You- you-" Hermione sputtered, staring in shock at a now visible Draco, her voice rising in anger. Draco smirked, casting the same mild binding spell, as Hermione raised her hand to slap him. Draco winked, following Blaise and Theo back down the hallway.

"All's fair in Truth or Dare, right Granger?"

* * *

Hermione's eyes flashed. How could he be so heartless? She had given him a chance and he had gone and reminded her of _that_. Hermione gazed into the cold, merciless pits she knew to be Draco Malfoy's eyes. She stared harder and harder and looked deeper and deeper until she felt like she was lost in them; lost in his soul. There was neither coldness nor mercilessness. Instead there was fear, confusion, hurt, and loss, like he couldn't find his way out no matter how hard he tried. Perhaps there was even sadness too, sadness for blowing the one chance he had in a long time. Hermione sighed angrily and tore her eyes away. _Why do I always have to 'care' so much._ She glanced at him again. _Don't worry Malfoy it won't be your last chance. But that doesn't mean you get off the hook now._ Hermione was still mad and she wasn't going to let him get away with it. 

"You're such an evil little-" she raised her hand to strike. Then a small frown formed on her face and she lowered her hand to her side. "You know what, you're not even worth it." Draco stared coolly back at her. She had said stuff like that to him before, but this time it almost felt 'different'. There was no anger in her voice. It just made him feel like she was right, that it was the truth, that he really wasn't worth it. Hermione turned on her heel and stepped up to where the hallway floor should have been, but there was nothing but air. Hermione fell.

* * *

**A.N:** And there's Chapter 1. Please, Please, Please Review. It will let me know if anyone is actually reading my story and how it's going. It would really mean a lot so please just take 2 minutes and review. Thanks! 


	2. White Rooms and Tattoos

**A.N:** Here's Chapter 2! Sorry it took so long I was in New York.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**White Rooms and Tattoos **

* * *

Draco watched in horror as Hermione fell. Sometime during their argument the staircase had started to move, so instead of stepping onto the hallway, Hermione had stepped into nothingness. Draco saw a white circle appear a little ways below Hermione, growing bigger in size. Draco sighed in relief. It must have been some sort of safety net Dumbledore had put up incase something like this ever happened. Draco frowned as he watched Hermione fall into the whiteness and disappear. He leaned further over the edge, making sure he had seen right. Hermione and the whiteness were gone. Draco straightened up, feeling that somehow something was wrong… Perhaps he should get Dumbledore. Draco nodded quickly to himself, backing up slowly. He gave one last glance over the railing of the stairs. _She couldn't be- _Draco shook his head, trying not to panic. Swiftly, he whirled around to go back down the steps, walking straight into the same white circle, disappearing.

* * *

Hermione tensed, closing her eyes tightly as she prepared for impact. It still hadn't come. She was _still_ falling. _It was just the third floor... What's going on?_ Tentatively Hermione opened her eyes. Everything was white. She looked down. White again. Without warning, Hermione hit the ground, but as fast as she was falling, she hardly felt it at all. Hermione felt her surroundings. It was unlike anything she had felt before. Like there was a bubble bath beneath her, but all the bubbles were solid, but fluffy and soft. Hermione gazed upwards. There was a tiny speck in all the white growing bigger. As it grew bigger she could hear screams of terror before it landed right beside her. Hermione smirked, recognizing the panting figure next to her. 

"Have a nice trip Malfoy?" Draco glared at her.

"Shut it Granger." Draco put on his 3C face; Calm, Cool, and Collected, but on the inside he was going crazy. _Where the hell am I? What's going on? How are we going to get out of here? What—  
_  
"Don't freak out Malfoy," Hermione said, looking at him strangely. She never heard him talk like that.

"What are you talking about Granger. I wasn't 'freaking out'," Draco said, looking at her just as strangely.

"Whatever Malfoy." Hermione rolled her eyes and turned away from him. _Why does he always have to be such an insolent prat?  
_  
"I am not an insolent prat, Mudblood." Hermione whipped around.

_What the hell?_ Malfoy lifted an eyebrow.

_What's going on with her?_ Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

_Deep breaths Mione, deep breaths._ Draco stared at her.

_What do you know, the Mudblood has finally gone insane._

_Bloody hell._ Hermione stared at her lap, realization coming over her.

"Language Granger," Malfoy said smirking. Hermione just looked at him. She was still trying to concentrate on her deep breaths. _I think she really has gone insane._ Hermione burst out laughing, the last of her shock fading away.

_Time to test my theory out.  
_  
"What theor-"Draco stopped. Hermione was having another laughing spell.

_Yep I was right.  
_  
"Right about what?!" Draco said, irritated.

_Honestly Malfoy, you're supposed to be one of the smartest wizards in Hogwarts and you're telling me you still haven't figured it out?_

"What's there to figure out?!"

Hermione sighed that 'you-are-so-slow-do-I-have-to-explain-everything' sigh. _Alright Malfoy tell me the last thing I said.  
_  
"Honestly Malfoy you're supposed to be one of the smartest wizards in Hogwarts and you're telling me you still haven't figured it out?" Draco mimicked in a high, whiny voice. He smirked at her.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. So funny. And no, that's not the last thing I said._ Draco looked at her incredulously.

"Yes it is."

_No the last thing I **said**,_ Hermione paused for effect,_ was 'Whatever Malfoy' and then I turned around. I didn't say anything after that. I haven't said anything in a little while actually. And if you don't get it now you really are as stupid as you look._ Hermione smirked. She could almost see the gears working in overdrive in his head replaying every second that they had been here. And then everything clicked, including the part where Hermione had practically called him an idiot. His eyes flashed.

"I wouldn't be the one to talk, Mudblood. You're the one who's so clueless that you actually think you have real friends. You know no one else wants to hang out with you and the only reason Pothead and Weasel don't ditch you is because it would be too un-Gryffindor like. Even the little Weaselette is too busy for you. Always doing _things_ with her boyfriend, Potter. And well, seeing how you'll never get a boyfriend after that pitiful breakup with Mr. Krum, you'll just end up with no one, except your boring, old, dusty, books." Malfoy smirked evilly. He had always been able to see past the façade she put up too. He knew all the things she was insecure about. Draco didn't know why Potty and Weasel couldn't see it. It was so obvious with a bit of observational skills and they saw her 24/7. It's too bad he used his powers for evil instead of good.

Hermione stared at him, shocked. "I... I was-." Draco frowned. It sounded like she didn't have enough oxygen or something. "I was only joking around Malfoy!" Then to both her and Draco's surprise, tears slowly began falling down her face. Hermione turned away, a hand covering her face. Draco stared at her, not knowing what to do. He didn't understand. He had insulted her much worse in school without even some sort of reaction. Draco slowly took a step back, before pausing as something caught his eye. He turned slightly, gazing into the whiteness. Blurred colors were darting by. Looking at them closer, the colors became clearer, turning into scattered images.

_…Draco insulting the 'Golden Trio'… …Hermione telling them to go to class without her… …disappearing into the nearest deserted corridor… …sinking to the floor, her head in her hands… rising a few seconds later, taking a few deep breaths… …calmly smoothing out her uniform before walking in to class… _

Draco grimaced as he felt guilt flood him once again. Sure he knew he hurt her way more then she let on, but he didn't know it was that much. Draco looked down at Hermione who was now sitting on the floor, her back towards him.

He hated seeing girls cry. He wasn't exactly the best comforter, but after being friends with Pansy so long he had learned to deal with tears that were ever present with her constant girl-drama. But even though he really felt like he should, he couldn't comfort Granger like he did Pansy. This was _Granger_.

_He shouldn't kneel beside her._ Draco went beside Hermione, kneeling.

_He shouldn't wrap an arm around her._ Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione's trembling shoulders.

_He shouldn't let her cry in his arms._ Hermione rested her head on Draco's chest, trying to compose herself.

_He shouldn't tell her how he didn't realize what he was doing, how he was sorry._ "I'm sorry," Draco whispered softly, looking down at her. "I didn't know- I never meant-"

Hermione nodded, the last of her tears gone. "I know- It's just-" Hermione paused as the two stared at each other, thinking the exact same thing.

_What just happened?  
_  
Draco snatched his arm away from Hermione's shoulders as if he had been burned. His eyes widened with shock and fear, as he stood and turned to walk away.

_No Malfoy, wait, come back. We have to- we have to discuss this._ To her astonishment, Draco slowly turned around, sitting back down, a considerable distance between them. The both sat in silence for a little while not looking at each other. Hermione laughed sadly. _No ones ever seen me like that, not even Ron or Harry. I haven't cried like that in a long time. I wouldn't let myself. I taught myself to how to be strong and not weakened by others stupid opinions of me. Every time someone_- Hermione paused, taking a deep breath._ I just stored it away, telling myself it didn't matter, that I didn't care. Sometimes I felt like just letting go, not being 'strong' for once, but I would always stop myself. But this time... It was so weird._ Hermione looked over at Draco. _Like..._ She furrowed her brow trying to find the right words. _I felt so open. Like there was no place to hide anything. Not in a bad way, but it wasn't good either. It was like all my feelings were on a plate and I couldn't hide them. No secrets. And I had to express myself, so if felt so bad that I needed cry I couldn't help myself._ Draco glanced at her then looked away.

_It was- It was the same for me, _he thought softly._ I..._ he sighed_. I felt so guilty and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Unless it's my friends, I don't comfort people or apologize. But here... here was different. Usually I would have just said something cruel and walked away._ Hermione bit her lip, looking around.

_I think- I think it's the room._ She motioned to the room around them. _The whiteness. Everything blank; out in the open; no place to hide... no 'secrets'. That's why I cried in front of you and why you did all those things. That's probably why we can hear each other's thoughts too. Our feelings are out in the open and we have to do what we want- no, what we need to do even if we wouldn't do it normally. Its so-._ Hermione stopped, her hand flying to her side. _Ouch. Ow.  
_  
_What's the mat-._ But Draco didn't have to finish. He felt a prickly sensation on his side, like someone was sticking him with little needles. Slowly, he lifted his shirt up. It looked like someone was drawing on his skin. A picture was forming on his lower back close to his right side. Draco looked up at Hermione. She was staring at the same part of her body. She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders_. I suppose it's just another one of the room's mysteries. _Hermione glanced back down. _I think it's almost finished. _Draco felt the prickly sensation fade away.

_Mine too. _Hermione and Draco began to examine the image.

_They're just like tattoos. _Draco frowned._  
_  
_What?_

_Nevermind, it's a muggle thing.  
_  
_Oh._ Draco took a closer look at the 'tattoo' or whatever Hermione had called it. It almost looked like it was real. It was a little smaller than the palm of this hand. The image was of a black dragon with a silver rose, its stem curled around the dragon. On the stem there were small red thorns. Draco looked closer. It looked like one of the thorns was disappearing. He watched until the entire thorn had disappeared inside the rose. He looked up and yelped. Hermione was right in front of him. She laughed softly, peering at his tattoo.

"Yours is like mine." She showed him hers. Every detail was the same except for the color. The dragon was still black, but her rose was red and the thorns were silver. "Did one of your thorns disappeared inside the rose too?" Draco nodded.

"I wonder wh-." Suddenly the whole room began to shake before stopping just as quickly as it had begun. "What was that?" Hermione's mouth dropped open and she pointed behind Draco. He turned around. There was a hole that showed the 3rd floor steps at Hogwarts.

"Yes!" Hermione started for the opening, before realizing Draco wasn't following her. She turned, her face questioning. "What?"

_Are you sure you want to go?_ Hermione looked at him curiously.

"Of course… aren't you?"

Draco looked back over his shoulder at the room behind them. _All this, the freedom, the openness; it'll be gone. We won't be able to do anything- we won't be able to act the same- _A small frown formed on Hermione's face as the gut wrenching realization came upon her. She thought of all the things she was letting go by leaving; the power to see what was _really_ inside Draco Malfoy, to see what was really inside herself…

"I know," she whispered, turning to walk out. Hermione knew as soon as she left Malfoy was going to be as mean as ever and she knew it would hurt twice as much. _We can't stay here forever._ Hermione walked out of the portal with Draco right behind her.

* * *

**A.N:** Thank You! Thank You! Thank You for my reviews! You guys absolutely made my day! Now everybody can pat themselves on the back and say 'today I made a complete stranger happy!' : ) Next Chapter- Hermione and Draco are back at Hogwarts. 


	3. Back at Hogwarts

**A.N:** Noooooo!!! School's started. Oh well. Here's the long awaited 3rd chapter! Sorry if this chapter has more mistakes than usual, I had to put this one up sort of short notice and I didn't get the chance to check it the million times I'd like to. Oh yeah, I changed the summary incase you didn't notice. Tell me if this one's okay. Thankx.

* * *

**Chapter 3 **

**Back at Hogwarts**

* * *

Ron paced back and forth in the Gryffindor common room. Every second or so he'd stop and look at the portrait hole. Harry and Ginny were sitting on the couch together. Ginny looked bored and Harry kept fidgeting. He would look at the door, Ginny, Ron, his shoe… the door, Ginny, Ron, his shoe, over and over.

"Where is she?!" Ron yelled for the millionth time. Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Let's check the map again." Ron stopped pacing and sat in the chair opposite to Harry and Ginny. "Hermione." Harry whispered, pointing to the map. "Nothing… again." Ron groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Maybe she got lost. She could be kidnapped... being tortured somewhere in the Forbidden forest... by a pack of hungry werewolves... forcing her to perform muggle magic tricks... while-." Suddenly Ginny let out an exasperated yell and threw down the book she was reading.

"Enough! Incase you haven't noticed Hermione is a 'big girl' now! She can take care of herself!" Ginny took a deep breath to calm herself. "Hermione didn't want to say anything, but now I'm going to. You guys act like two overprotective brothers- no bodyguards!" Ginny huffed angrily. "You act like you're her parents. You need to know where she is at all times, who she's with, when she'll be back, and whatever else she plans on doing the rest of the day. If she's not in the company of one of you for two seconds you get suspicious. It drives me crazy just watching. But _you two_ can go off unexpectedly and come back at odd hours and no one knows where you've been. And you know what she says?! Absolutely nothing! She's the smartest witch in Hogwarts." Ginny turned to Ron. "Really Ron, maybe she got lost?! Did it ever occur to the both of you that Hermione might be engaged in, oh I don't know, _other activities_." Ginny looked at them suggestively. Harry and Ron stared at her blankly. Harry was the first one to catch on. His eyes widened a bit.

"Eww." he whispered. Harry's hands flew up to his eyes like they had been hurt. "Bad mental picture, Gin." Ginny laughed.

"So you were imaging it then?" Harry frowned at her.

"No," he said unconvincingly. As for Ron, he had finally put two and two together. He shot up out of his chair.

"Hermione's not that kind of girl, Ginny!" Ron was practically glowering at her.

"Calm down Ron. I know she isn't. I was just trying to get my point across. She's all grown up now. Stop smothering her." Ginny stood and straightened her robes. "Now I suggest we all go to bed for the few hours of sleep we have left. If she's not at breakfast then we'll go to Dumbledore." Ginny looked at them expectantly. They gave her the blank look again. She put a hand on her hip and pointed to the dormitory stairs. "Go. Now!" The boys reluctantly turned and went up the stairs. "And don't even think of coming back down!" Ginny yelled up the stairs. "Or you _will_ be sorry!"

* * *

Ginny walked down the girl's dormitory steps to the Gryffindor common room. As soon as her foot came off the last step she was attacked by masses of black and red hair. 

"Is she up there?"

"Did she come back?"

"Was she in her bed?"

"What time did she get back?" Harry and Ron paused to catch their breath.

"Well?!" they said in unison. Ginny pushed pass them and went out the portrait door. Harry and Ron looked at each other and raced to catch up with her.

"She wasn't in her bed this morning," Ginny said calmly when they had finally caught up with her. They had reached the Great Hall. "In fact," she said sitting down, "I don't think she came in at all." Harry and Ron gaped at her as she buttered her toast.

"We have to go to Dumbledore," Harry said. Ron and Harry turned to go out of the Great Hall. Ginny grabbed the back of their robes.

"No." she ordered. "Eat first. If she's not here by the end of breakfast we'll check the common room and _then _we'll go to Dumbledore." Ron stared at her in horror.

"No, we have to-"

"Eat! Now!" Ginny pointed down to the two spaces on either side of her.

"It's the twilight zone," Lavender said watching them amazed, "Ron doesn't want to eat. The world is ending!!" Lavender dissolved into a fit of giggles. Ron glared at her and he and Harry sat down. Harry grabbed a muffin and Ron stuffed three sausages, one slice of bread, and two eggs in his mouth.

"Lets go," they said, or rather Harry said. Ron just sprayed food all over Dean's plate.

"There goes my appetite," Dean said, pushing away his plate. "Nice Ron." Ron ignored him and looked expectantly at Ginny.

"No," she said without looking up from her eggs. After 10 minutes of sighing, complaining, and whining, Ginny finally gave in. "Fine, just check the map to see if she's in the Tower."

"Nothing," Harry said, checking the map.

"Well let's go then." They started off to Dumbledore's office. Ginny, who had been calm thus far, stared to worry, but she couldn't let it show. Her worrying could send the boys into a crazed frenzy.

"Jolly Ranchers."

They walked into Dumbledore's office, seeing only the back of is chair.

"Headmaster?" Harry questioned. Dumbledore swiveled around, his arms cradling something. He smiled brightly at them.

"Hello Harry, Ginevra, Ronald. He lifted the thing he was cradling, holding it out in extremely close proximity to Ginny's face. "This is Blueberry. Would you like to pet him?" Ginny blinked blankly, looking from the small blue hamster to Dumbledore and back to the hamster again.

"Um, sure…" Ginny said, petting the small animal.

"Here," Dumbledore said, depositing Blueberry into her arms. "Hold him." Dumbledore looked at he hamster and Ginny with the expression of an excited child. "Isn't he wonderful?"

"Er, yeah," Harry said, staring at the pair. Ron was still staring at Dumbledore, a rather nervous look on his face. _Any sudden movements and we bolt._

Dumbledore looked at Harry. "Is there something you needed?" Harry tore his eyes away from Ginny and the hamster.

"Um yes, we- um-" Harry frowned, his eyes involuntary going back to Ginny and Blueberry.

"I do believe," Dumbledore started, "that you came to inquire about Ms. Granger." Instantly the three came out of their daze. They all started talking at once.

"Yeah she-"

"Never came back-"

"-_other activities_-"

"-waited all night-"

"-definitely not involved in _other activities_-"

"-werewolves in the forbidden forest-"

"-smartest witch in Hogwarts-"

"-couldn't be doing in _other activities_-"

"Wait!" Harry put up his hands. "You already knew we were coming here about Hermione?"

"You know she's missing?" Ron said, amazed.

"Of course Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore smiled, "two of my students don't just disappear without me knowing." His eyes gave an extra twinkle, looking at Ron and Harry. "Both Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy finished their rounds and I suppose were heading to their respective common rooms, but somewhere between Point A and Point B they simply disappeared. We, the other teachers and I, think they may have stepped into some sort of portal. There was some irregular magical currents last night. We've looked up all the normal portals and none seem to match the currents. Many portals will only appear in certain centuries or circumstances. We haven't found any yet." Harry, Ginny, and Ron stared at Dumbledore horrified. How could he be so calm?

"So Mione could be lost... forever?" Ginny said in a small voice.

"Oh no. You see according to the magical current it was a blank, empty portal, temporary and perfectly safe. They both should be back within the week. We wouldn't want them to miss the last day of school now would we? So I believe all your questions are answered?" The three nodded. "Well off you go then. I believe you will make it just in time for Professor Flitwick and Professor Hagrid's classes." Dumbledore held out his hands out for Blueberry as Ginny gave the hamster back. The headmaster placed the hamster on the table, before giving a quick flick of his wand. In Blueberry's place was a small tissue box, the exact same color. The three looked between the tissue box and Dumbledore, who was now humming to himself quietly. The three backed quickly out of the room. Now the question was, was it a hamster turned tissue box, or was it a tissue box turned hamster…

"And do try not to worry. Ms. Granger could be back within the day." Dumbledore called after them. He sighed to himself. _And in 3… 2… 1-_ Ron, Harry, and Ginny came bursting back into the office.

"If Hermione and Malfoy are in another portal, and empty portal, then that means," Ron paused to catch his breath, "that means they're alone together!"

"Actually that term is an oxymoron, but yes, you are correct, they're alone together." Once again the trio was left staring at Dumbledore in shock while he looked back calmly.

"But...but...Hermione." Ginny sputtered not knowing what to say.

"Ms. Weasley I hadn't expected this from you. Ms Granger is not stupid; she can take care of herself and I'm sure Mr. Malfoy will not hurt a single hair on her head." Ron snorted loudly. Dumbledore turned to him sharply. "Hermione. will. be. fine." he said in a deadly calm voice. "Now it is time for you to go to class. Go. Now." The three turned to leave again. Harry and Ron said goodbye to Ginny and made their way to Professor Flitwick's class. They were silent all through class and lunch. An air of doom hung around them. They didn't even flinch when Professor Snape took off 25 points because their potion was a tad bit lighter shade of pink that his. Finally it was dinner. All three sat down together.

"Oh cheer up you three. I'm sure Hermione is fine," Parvati said. Harry and Ginny just looked at her, Ron poking at his mashed potatoes. The door to the Great hall opened. A ripple of silence went through the room. Harry, Ron, and Ginny didn't even bother to look up.

"Hermione and Draco." someone whispered. All three jumped up and started to look frantically around, just in time to see a bewildered Hermione and Draco being led out by Professor Dumbledore.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the portal Draco right behind her. She stopped short, making run into her. 

"Watch it Mudblood," he sneered, "I don't want your filth all over my robes." Hermione sighed. _Did it have to start so soon? _"Why yes it had to Granger." She glared at him.

"Great, I can't even have my own thoughts to myself." Draco smirked.

"And me thinking we had already established that." Hermione tried to ignore him.

"It's sunset."

"Obviously." he drawled.

"Well, when we went in the portal it was past midnight.

"So?"

"So that means it could have been weeks, months even, since we left!"

"Or it could be tomorrow night."

"Well, yes but-"

"Let's go to the Great hall before you have another panic attack." Hermione raised and eyebrow that clearly said 'I didn't know you cared'. Draco sneered. "As much fun as it would be to see you hyperventilate and die, it wouldn't look good for me, considering everyone probably already thinks I killed you. Let's go." They walked the rest of the way in silence. Hermione pulled open the doors to the Great Hall and she and Draco stepped in. A complete silence fell over the room. Hermione began looking around, searching for Harry, Ron, and Ginny before something blocked her way. She looked up seeing Dumbledore. He smiled, taking both her and Draco by the shoulders and steering them back out of the Great Hall.

* * *

**A.N:** Thank you guys for reviewing my story!!! Please keep reviewing and telling me if I'm doing all right in the new chapters :-). I know this one sort of sucked and was uneventful but I promise the next one will be better. Speaking of the next chapter I'm not sure when I will be able to update 'cuz I just found out I was moving. I'm kinda bummed considering I just found out this weekend and we might have to move as early as Wednesday! And we just moved here last year! We move a lot so I guess it's to be expected. sighs and _they_ said we might stay here for a while. Ugh, I don't even know why I try and get my hopes up. Oh well I'm just ranting now. I guess it will be nice to see the snow again. Winter baby all the way man! Anyway...Next Chapter: Hermione and Draco learn the secret behind the portal. 


	4. Lord Aidan and Lady Guinevere

**A.N:** Yay! MY INTERNET IS FINALLY UP! I'm so sorry it took so long. Well the people at the computer help desk are sorry. The move went okay. Actually, we ran into a pole and **totaled** our car (no one was hurt). Anyway, here's the next chapter, finally.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Lord Aidan and Lady Guinevere **

* * *

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked looking at him. Dumbledore kept walking. Hermione sighed and started to look around. She had never seen this part of Hogwarts before. _Where is taking us? I want to see my friends. They must be worried sick. Dumbledore looks the same. I wonder how long it's been? Where are we goi-"_

_For goodness sakes Granger, shut up! Make some mind barriers or something. You don't hear my every thought do you?_

_That's because you don't have any. _Before Malfoy could retort Dumbledore interrupted.

"Here we are." They were in front of the stone gargoyle leading to the Headmaster's office. Hermione was confused; they hadn't come the regular way. "I just took a short cut." Dumbledore explained. "Jolly Ranchers." Hermione and Draco walked into his office and sat down. "Now I want the entire story."

_Well he sure does get to the point._

_That's one of the things I like about him._

_Stay out of my mind Mudblood._ They glared at each other. Dumbledore coughed bringing them back to the speaking world.

"Oh yeah, well..." Hermione and Draco told him about the portal.

"Interesting," Dumbledore said when they were finished, "very, very, interesting. May I see the tattoos?" Hermione and Draco showed him. Dumbledore chuckled.

"I thought as much. Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy let me tell you about one of the wizarding world's most famous couple. Lord Aidan and Lady Guinevere. Ah yes, Aidan and Guinevere." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Remind me of you two actually. Anyway, the Ristórys and the Lenors were both very prominent pureblood families. Lady Guinevere's family, the Ristórys, was a... darker family. Like most other purebloods they had... certain views about muggles and muggleborns. They were interested in money, power, and of course the Dark Arts. Lord Aidan's family, the Lenors, was quite the opposite. They didn't share the same views about non-magic folk and muggleborns, as many of the purebloods. Instead, they viewed them with equality. The two families couldn't hate each other openly, they had an image to uphold, but their dislike for each other was great. At Hogwarts, the rivalry continued with Aidan and Guinevere. The Ristórys thought the Lenors weak and foolish and the Lenors saw the Ristórys as evil, but cowardly. I won't tell you how they fell in love, for that is another story for another time, but I will tell you about the magic they created. They first made the room you described when their families found out about their relationship. The entire wizarding world was in a uproar." Dumbledore chuckled again.

"Anyway they needed to get away, sort things out. So they made the portal, but they only used it once. The tattoos came later. It was so they would always be connected even when their families were tearing them apart." Dumbledore paused. "I'd be careful who you show those too." His eyes twinkled brightly. "Those tattoos have become a symbol for two peoples' undying love for each other. Lovebirds all over the wizarding world have them, but the imitations all fall short to the real thing if I do say so myself." Draco and Hermione looked at him in horror. "Like I was saying, the tattoos were to keep them connected while their families were feuding. All they had to do was touch the tattoo and they could be in each other's thoughts."

"But we can hear each others thoughts without touching the tattoos."

"That should wear off soon. It's probably from the combined magic of the tattoos and the opening of the portal. But now you must realize you both are forever connected to each other. All you have to do is touch the tattoo and you will instantaneously be in each other's mind." Hermione and Draco paled. This was too much. "I know this is a lot right now, how you came across this room is a complete mystery to me. Almost nothing is known about it or the tattoos. The most anyone knows is what I just told you and what you told me of your experience. You-"

"Can we go to bed now?" Hermione whispered, interrupting. Dumbledore gazed at the two of them sadly.

"Yes, of course. I am sorry, I know it's a lot to take in. It's been a long day." Draco and Hermione stood and silently walked out of his office.

"Malfoy." Hermione whispered, her voice trembling softly with fear and uncertainty. He looked at her. Their eyes locked for a moment before they both turned and walked away in the opposite directions.

* * *

Hermione walked wearily towards the Gryffindor common room. She didn't feel like seeing anyone anymore. She stood looking at the portrait of the Fat Lady. 

"Password?" Hermione sighed. She'd have to go in.

"_Verum Relevo_." Hermione stepped into the Gryffindor common room. Instantly masses of Gryffindors attacked her. She put up with this for as long as she could... which was about three seconds.

"Will everyone please just back up!" Hermione felt a headache coming on.

"Back up everybody!" Ron yelled looking fiercely at everyone else as if he hadn't been doing the same thing. Hermione glared at him.

"Don't yell at them like you weren't doing the same thing-" Everyone stared at her. _Weasel_. "-Weasel." Everyone's mouths dropped open. Hermione sighed irritably and put her hand on her hip, placing it where the tattoo was. _Malfoy!_ She heard him laughing in her head. _You are going to pay for that Malfoy._

_Ah come on Granger, you know you wanted to say it. I just gave you a little push._

_Saying things in my mind so that I might say them aloud is not a push I want. _Draco started laughing again. Hermione shifted awkwardly and started to walk toward the couches. His laugher was kind of nice, not evil, almost sweet. Hermione shook her head forcefully._ Go to hell Malfoy. _He laughed again.

_Good night my Guinevere. _Hermione flopped down on the couch closest to the fire, the memory of Draco's laughter still ringing in her head.

"Hermione." someone whispered. Hermione groaned closing her eyes and placing her hand on her head. The headache was full blown now. She felt someone sit down beside her. She opened her eyes a bit. Ron and Ginny were sitting across from her; Harry was the one who had sat next to her. The rest of the Gryffindors were dispersed around the room, trying to look like they weren't looking. They were talking, but it was unnatural. It wasn't the normal loud, excited voices. They were all trying to listen to the conversation. "Hermione." Harry whispered again, this time leaning around to see her face to face. Hermione forced a smile on her face and opened her eyes fully.

"Hey you guys!" She heard them all sigh in relief. "Well," she said standing up," I guess I'm off to bed." All three looked at her open mouthed. She smiled even wider and started towards the stairs. This smile was really getting painful for her to keep up. "I know it's early, but I'm kinda tired." She was almost to the stairs. She knew if she could get up one step she'd be free. _Almost there...No!_ Ron, Harry, and Ginny had stepped in front of her. "Excuse me," she said a little less politely than intended.

"Did you actually think you'd get away that easily!" Ron said angrily. "You disappear for a whole day and then you come in here, call me Weasel, and expect to go to bed like nothing happened!"

"Actually it wasn't a whole day."

"Yu at least owe us some sort of explanation! Us, you know, the people who have been worrying about you for the past day! Oh I'm terribly sorry it wasn't exactly a full day!" Hermione stared at him stonily. Her voice was just above a whisper, but was full of malevolence.

"I don't owe you anything Ronald. And I certainly didn't ask you to worry so it's not my problem if it caused you any inconvenience." Ginny seeing the fire in her eyes stepped in.

"We went to see Dumbledore after you disappeared. He said you and Malfoy were both gone." Harry stepped in too.

"Yeah, he said you two were stuck in a portal all by yourselves. Must have been awful, stuck that long with Malfoy." Hermione looked down and swallowed hard, trying not to let the tears come into her eyes. She didn't want to remember the portal with Malfoy. The three mistook her gesture. Ginny gasped.

"Oh no! No wonder you were so upset." Ron's eyes were lit with fury.

"He did something to you didn't he!"

"Don't worry Mione," Harry said just as fiercely, "We'll take care of him." Hermione looked up sharply at this.

"No! You- you don't understand! He didn't do anything to me! He didn't touch me okay!" Hermione had finally lost it. Her head was pounding, tears were almost in her eyes, and here they were interrogating her. "I'm just so tired! And everybody is in my fucking way!" Hermione gasped, her hand flying over her mouth. _That's it I've finally lost it._ Hermione exhaled angrily as the three of them and the rest of the common room looked at her in shock. "Don't you get it! All I want to do is get in my bed and go to sleep! So get out of my way!" Hermione pushed them aside and stormed up the stairs. Harry, Ron, and Ginny stared at the spot Hermione had just occupied.

"What happened to her?!"

* * *

**A.N:** There's Chapter 4! Chapters 4,5, and 6 were actually 1 big chapter but I decided to cut it into 3 different parts. The next chapter should be interesting. Please keep reviewing and tell me of any typos or suggestions of what went wrong. Thankx to everyone who reviewed! 


	5. Forever Connected Dreams

**A.N:** There's good news and bad news. The good news is that I finally finished typing Chapter 5; the bad news it that I still have to finish _writing_ Chapter 6.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Forever Connected-- Dreams **

* * *

Hermione was throwing all the clothes out of her dresser. She couldn't find her pajamas and it was too hot for anything she did find. Hermione threw up her hands in frustration and went over to her trunk. Moving around several books and stray parchment she saw what she was looking for, a partially unwrapped shiny, red, package. Hermione sighed, taking out her Christmas present from her Aunt Marilyn. The present she swore she'd never wear. Hermione looked it over again. It was a dangerously short, lacy red spaghetti-strap nightgown with a crisscrossed back. That in itself was enough to make Hermione cringe, but then there was the front; with the neckline dipping dangerously low, there were seven red feathers covering each cleavage area. Hermione groaned. It made her feel like some kind of slutty show-girl. But at least only the girls in her room would see, if that. _Crazy Aunt Marilyn._ She was always thinking Hermione needed 'some more _spice_ in her life'. Hermione huffed. She had plenty of spice in her life. Hermione climbed into bed wincing; the tattoo still felt a bit raw. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and fell fast asleep.

* * *

Hermione looked around. She was in a hallway. The walls were black, but then again everything else looked black too. There seemed to be a dim light source coming from somewhere. It brightened the hall just enough so she could see. Hermione shivered. It was so cold. She looked down. She was still wearing her supposed 'pajamas'. Hermione shivered again and started to walk down the hall, her bare feet getting colder and colder. As she rounded a particularly dark corner, something grabbed her. One hand covered her mouth, the other around her waist, yanking her roughly into a small closet. She felt her back being pulled against a hard, well-toned chest. Hair tickled her ear as someone whispered, 

"What the hell are you doing here Granger?" He took his hand off her mouth.

"Malfoy?" She said in her normal voice, about to whirl around. Instead, Draco swiftly clamped his hand over her mouth again and pulled her tighter.

"For god's sake Granger, whisper. Are you trying to get yourself killed? And yes, of course it's Malfoy."

* * *

Draco sighed looking at the black walls around him. _Why tonight?_ He really wasn't in the mood for one of his father's nightly 'talks'. Draco walked down the hallway wondering what his father wanted this time. Probably 'nothing' like usual. Draco stopped short. What was that noise? There wasn't supposed to be noise. It sounded like footsteps. Who was here? Draco peered around the corner. Swearing silently, he flattened himself against the wall, waiting. Finally he saw her round the corner. He grabbed her, pulling her against him into the closet. He leaned in close to her ear, 

"What the hell are you doing here Granger?"

"Malfoy?" Malfoy clamped his hand back over her mouth and pulled her harder against him. He looked frantically around the closet and sighed.

"For god's sake Granger, whisper. Are you trying to get yourself killed? And yes, of course it's Malfoy. What's up with stomping down the hall like a bloody elephant?"

"I was not stomping like an elephant thank you very much." she whispered indignantly, well as indignant as you can whispering.

"You need to learn to walk silently in silent halls Ms. Granger." Hermione rolled her eyes and tilted her head back, so her mouth was now next to his ear.

"Where are we?" she whispered, her breath tickling him. Draco felt a slow shiver go down his spine. He squirmed, it was suddenly too hot.

"I'll explain later. He'll get suspicious if I'm late. Sit down." Hermione sat, her hands still wrapped around her sides. "Stay here, I'll come back." Draco crouched down in front of her looking directly into her eyes. "Whatever you do, don't move. No matter what you hear or see, don't move." He paused for effect before standing and walking out of the closet.

Hermione closed her eyes. It was so dark. Now she wished she had leaned against the wall or something, anything solid. She felt so open, so vulnerable, sitting in the middle of the room. _Maybe if I just..._ but she daren't move.

Hermione felt something behind her. She could sense something moving closer and stopping every so often. It was right behind her. She could feel it on her neck. All her instincts told her to move, to run, to do something, but Hermione kept picturing Draco's face. Something else, something she couldn't even name, told her to do the impossible, to trust him. _Something_ said that he was right. _Don't move. Don't move._ She felt it loom over her. Hermione held back the tears welling in her eyes. She was about to sit here and die. She felt it around her neck, squeezing tighter and tighter; choking her. Why didn't she just move. _He's my enemy; I shouldn't trust his advice. They're probably all sitting around laughing about poor, dead, stupid Granger and how she was too stupid to move._ Yet she didn't move. Yet she couldn't breathe. _Don't move. Don't move._ She felt everything blacking out. _I'm going to die, just because of some stupid words, stupid Malfoy. Don't move..._

Then, slowly, it started to recede; stop squeezing, stop choking. She felt the blackness around her eyes retreating. But she could still feel it, whatever it was, way back there. Hermione couldn't stand it anymore. She needed something, someone, anything to escape the darkness; the silence. _Malfoy_. Hermione concentrated hard on the whispers in the back of her mind that she had been too scared to hear. She must have done something by concentrating that hard because suddenly she wasn't just hearing Draco's thoughts, she could see everything though his eyes. Like there was a movie theater in her mind.

* * *

Draco walked briskly down the hallway making no noise. _How the hell did Granger get here. If anyone finds her, she'll be..._ Draco shook his head. _If anyone finds out about this 'connection'..._ He shuddered. He could imagine the horror, quite vividly too. Draco breathed deeply, gathering his thoughts and mentally preparing himself. He opened the door and went inside. This room was also black, with two armchairs on opposite ends facing the fire. Draco sat down. 

"You're late Draco."

"I am sorry father."

"Do not let it happen again. I do have other things I need to attend to."

"Yes, of course father." Lucius eyed Draco, sipping his blood red wine.

"Do you know why I have called you here Draco?" Draco shook his head. Lucius raised an eyebrow. _Crap. _Draco had slipped. 'Always answer me verbally Draco.' Like most of the lessons he was taught, Draco had learned that particular one the hard way, at a young age.

"No I don't know why, father." He saw Lucius sigh, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, but did nothing else. _I got off easy. We must have to talk about things much worse._

"Draco do you know what summer this is?"

"No father." Lucius got up, standing directly in front of the fire.

"At the end of this summer you will start your 7th and last year at Hogwarts, you will also be given a great honor." Draco's stomach plummeted. "It is at the end of this summer that you will join the Dark Lord." Draco struggled to remain neutral on the outside.

_And what if I don't want to join the Dark Lord. What if I don't want to be like you, you cowardly, pathetic, worthless waste of space._ Lucius studied the fire a bit more.

"But something ails you." His mind spun with anxiousness. _What?_ "You may think you are the king of facades, but remember I am the one that invented them. I'm not sure what your problem is with everything I've taught you, I can't read you thoughts Draco. But the Dark Lord can." Lucius grabbed Draco's neck in one swift motion, pushing his back against the armchair. "Traitors and unbelievers are not tolerated." Lucius leaned in so his face was inches away from Draco's. "You will not disappoint me Draco; you will not dishonor the Malfoy name." Draco's eyes hardened as he stared straight back into his father's eyes.

"It is you that has dishonored the Malfoy name, Lucius." Lucius shoved off Draco, his eyes ablaze.

"You must learn to respect your father! I will not have insolence! You _will_ go to the Dark Lord!" He pulled out his wand and pointed it directly a Draco, fury and hatred in his eyes. Draco didn't have time to blink.

"_Crucio_!"

* * *

Hermione watched Lucius through Draco's eyes. '_And what if I don't want to join the Dark Lord. What if I don't want to be like you, you cowardly, pathetic, worthless waste of space._' Malfoy didn't want to be like his father? He didn't want to join the Dark Lord?! Hermione listened to Lucius yell at Draco, shoving him, almost choking him, in the armchair. She listened to Draco's words and saw Lucius pull out his wand. "_Crucio_!" Hermione almost gasped in horror; a father performing an Unforgivable on his only son.

* * *

Draco slid off the armchair onto his hands and knees. 

He _felt_ it.

Hot knives piercing his body.

Slowly melting through him like butter. Entering every inch of him.

The heat alone was unbearable, but the cold, the cold was what made him want to scream.

The ice coldness.

Clawing at him insanely.

Lava and ice.

Swirling.

Mixing.

Dancing their beautiful dance through his veins.

Draco gripped the shag carpet with his hands until his knuckles were white.

He couldn't see; all he could do was _feel_.

_Feel_.

His body.

A plaything for the devil.

A simple ball of clay torn apart for amusement. The pieces never quite fitting all together ever again.

To be torn apart again.

A plaything for the devil.

Draco gripped harder.

Little cuts in his insides. Being eaten from the inside out.

Malfoy refused to open his mouth. He was afraid he'd be sick, or worse, scream. He wouldn't allow the satisfaction. He felt the blood and bile rising inside his mouth. He felt it dripping, mingling with the blood on the carpet from his nails digging into his own skin.

He couldn't breathe; he couldn't see; all he could do was _feel_.

His whole world swirled. Everything was going so fast that he couldn't react, yet so slow that he could feel every sordid detail.

His skin was too small for his body and was stretching, breaking. Each break igniting in searing pain over and over.

And then the mind games fueled by the hate of the spell. A thousand little voices that kept whispering, never hearing them clearly but knowing exactly what they were saying.

You're pathetic. You're worthless. Everyone hates you. You're nothing to no one. Again and again.

He couldn't take it anymore; he wanted to scream.

_Let go. _

But he couldn't, it wouldn't let him rid himself of it so easily, so soon; and besides he couldn't give in. What would happen to _her_?

Draco ground his fingers into his hands, his head lowered to the floor.

He couldn't take it. Everything was collapsing, swirling.

And then he felt again. Some of the pain, the heat, the ice, the knives, simply go away. Slowly but surely, start to ebb away. Draco blinked the unshed tears out of his eyes. He took several deep breaths, painfully uncurling his fingers, lifting his head from the carpet. More of the pain began to recede. Standing shakily, Draco continued his labored breathing, looking his father straight in the eye. He didn't know how it happened or why. He could still feel the pain vividly, but it was only about half as much.

* * *

Hermione didn't want to look anymore, but she couldn't leave him, not now. She wanted to help, to stop it. 

_Forever connected._ Dumbledore's words ghosted through Hermione's mind.

She was the only one here; the only that could help. Barely aware of what she was doing, Hermione concentrated even harder on reaching Draco. Helping him. She reached out into his pain. She could almost see it; _feel_ herself grasping it, almost as though it was in the palm of her hand. But where to put it?

_Forever connected. _

_They_ were the only two that were connected. Hermione took a shuddering breath, placing it the only place it could go, in herself. It was all Hermione could do not to scream out. She couldn't do this, she needed to give it back; she couldn't take it. Hermione bit her lip, trying to keep the tears back. She couldn't just leave him like this.

She just couldn't.

_Forever connected. _

She wouldn't be able to live with herself. Steeling herself, Hermione reached out again and almost cried with grief. She had barely made a dent in the pain that the Unforgivable was creating. Taking another unsteady breath, Hermione took more, bit by bit until the pain was half and half as she held it inside her.

* * *

It only came with practice, and he had been given practice, ever since he was seven. Not enough so he'd go insane, never that much, but enough so he knew what it felt like. But all the other times were simply play. This time he had felt it, the full wrath of hatred. Draco continued to stare, defiant, at his father, but still feeling his skin breaking and the lava and ice dancing. And then he saw it. A flicker of uncertainty in his father's eyes. A moment to be wrote down in history. 

Lucius continued to point his wand at his son, but he was worried. Draco should have been affected by it more. True, he had been able to go though it without blacking out since fourteen, but what Lucius saw in his eyes... He couldn't be immune to it, but why... Lucius lowered his wand ending the curse.

"You have made me late for my meeting. You had best think about what I have said." Lucius disapparated.

* * *

Hermione sat rigid. It was over. The pain had receded. But the memories, the lingering... she would never forget that.

* * *

Draco continued standing for a moment then collapsed onto the armchair, leaning over the side , empting the effects of the curse onto the carpet. He closed his eyes. He needed sleep. Slowly, he raised his wand and cleaned up the mess on the floor. A few other short spells cleaned his mouth and healed his bloody hands. Gingerly, he made himself comfortable in the chair. With a sigh he began to close his eyes before pausing, a slight frown on his face. _Something…_ Draco shot up. 

"Granger."

Draco raced back to the closet. "Granger." Hermione was still in the same position as he had left her. "Granger?" She still hadn't answered him. "Granger?!" Draco pulled her up swiftly. _What happened? She didn't move, did she? Why isn't she saying anything?!_ Then Hermione finally moved. She looked up at Draco, her eyes bloodshot and teary, her face as white as sheet, before collapsing into his arms. Draco looked down at the bushy haired witch in his arms. She was shaking badly, there was no way she could stand on her own. Picking her up wedding style, he made his way through a passage and into his room. Draco placed her down on his bed, she clung to him for a second, then went limp. Hermione curled herself into a ball, still shaking badly. Draco went over to his desk and sat, watching her. After a few minutes her shaking ceased and she immediately turned over and proceeded to spit up blood on the floor. Draco softly cleaned it up with a wave of his wand. Hermione looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"May I use your bathroom please," she said in a small voice. Draco pointed to another door in his room. Hermione went in and trying to pull herself together. She leaned against the counter, her eyes closed, breathing deeply. A calm slowly came over her. Surprisingly, the thought of Malfoy being there was a comfort. She shook her head trying to get that thought out. Hermione sighed. She had been in here too long. She rinsed her mouth out in the sink getting most of the metallic taste to go away. Preparing herself for the worst she walked out of the bathroom and sat on the end of Draco's bed. Draco let out a breath of relief he hadn't known he was holding.

_She's okay._

_Yes, so you can stop worrying._

_I was not worrying. Malfoys do not worry. _

_Sure. Whatever ever you say._

Draco sighed. He should really stop listening to those demonic voices in his head. He focused back on Hermione who was staring at him intently. He wondered if she had heard that little internal conversation in his mind. Gazing at her, he finally got a closer look at what she was wearing. Draco smirked.

"I didn't know you liked things like that Granger." Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow. Draco looked pointedly at her 'pajamas'. Hermione blushed furiously. Draco smirked again and started his ever so long inspection of her body. Hermione was getting redder with each passing moment.

"Don't look at me like that," she hissed.

"Look at you like what?" Draco replied innocently, not even bothering to look up.

"Malfoy," she said dangerously. Draco, who had finished his inspection, looked up at her.

"You have a very nice chest Granger; it's bigger than it seems. You should show a little more cleavage more often." Draco was looking at her with that cocky, but serious face, though Hermione could see laughter in his eyes.

"Pervert!" she shrieked. Hermione needed to get Draco's prying eyes off of her. She dove into his sheets, pulling them over her head. She stayed like that for a few seconds.

Silence.

Hermione started fidgeting; she couldn't see anything. Slowly, Hermione pulled the covers from over her head and yelped. Draco was on his knees next to the bed. His face was right above hers.

"Well Granger I thought you wanted me, but don't you think this is moving a bit fast." Hermione glared at him.

"Malfoy did anyone ever tell you that you are one sick bastard." Draco smirked again, never taking his eyes off hers.

"Many times, yet it's usually followed by giggles and then my name being screamed." Hermione pulled the sheets closer around her. _Eww_.

Hermione still felt like Draco's eyes could see her. Like that sheets weren't even there. Hermione tore her eyes away from his.

"Where are we?" she asked, picking at invisible threads on the sheets. Anything to avoid Draco's intense gaze. No one noticed that Hermione didn't seem to mind about being in Draco's bed and that Draco said absolutely nothing about getting 'Mudblood filth' all over his sheets.

"Malfoy Manor-- my room." Hermione laughed softly. _Obviously_. The entire room said Malfoy. Green, black, and silver.

"A true Slytherin. Though it reminds me of my room actually." Draco raised an eyebrow. _Whoops_. Intentionally, Draco put his hand on his tattoo. "Don't you dare." _Too late._ Draco saw the picture of her room in her mind.

"Green?!" Hermione pouted.

"It's my favorite color. Always has been, always will be." She rolled her eyes. "Just because I went to Hogwarts and found out about some _stupid house colors_ doesn't mean I'm going to change it." Draco smirked at her evilly. _Blackmail_.

"So what was that place, where we were before?" Draco's eyes darkened.

"It was the forbidden hall; the hall of darkness." Hermione bit her lip slightly.

"_Okay_. How did we- er, I get here?"

"Every so often father summons me. I fall asleep and wake up here for his... discussions with me. It's been happening ever since I could remember. More often now since it's so close too..." Draco trailed off his eyes cast down. Hermione sensed his distress.

"So are we dreaming or what?"

"Yes and no; our bodies are still at Hogwarts but if anyone tried, no one could wake us. We can still be hurt or killed while we're here, anything that happens to us, a cut, a bruise, will show up on our bodies when we get back."

"But how did _I _get here?" Draco shrugged and smirked,

"Forever connected?" Hermione groaned.

"I must have fallen asleep touching the tattoo, connecting me to your mind and therefore your dreams." Draco rolled his eyes and stood up.

"C'mon, we have to go back before anyone misses us."

"Oh no you don't. You're not seeing me in that- that- _thing_ again." Draco smirked.

"Ah come on you look so pretty in it."

"Sluttish is more like it," she mumbled under her breath. Draco laughed.

"You can't hide under there forever." Hermione looked at him stonily.

"No." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Gryffindors and their stubbornness. Fine." Draco walked over to his closet. "No...no...no...perfect." Draco took one of his school robes and threw it to Hermione. She stared at him in shock.

"Slytherin robes?! Are you crazy?! You do realize I'm a Gryffindor." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize that I'm a Slytherin." Hermione sighed and looked at the robes again. It was mainly black with silver trimmings. On the left side of the robe 'Slytherin' was embossed in green. On the bottom there was a silver snake that wrapped around the hemming. Also embossed, in silver, was the initials 'D.M' in small letters on the collar. _I guess it's better than nothing_. She looked up.

"Okay. I'm not happy about it but it will do. Well, turn around." Draco rolled his eyes again, turning his back to her. "And if you turn back around before I tell you to, I'll hex you into oblivion."

"I didn't know you held you wand when you go to sleep Granger," he said, pulling out his own wand (which he always slept with for obvious reasons) and started twirling it around with one hand. Hermione glared at his back.

"Well I'll hex you when I get back then."

"Whatever Granger." Hermione eyed Draco suspiciously before jumping out of bed and quickly slipping the robe over her head. Draco turned around.

"Hey!"

"I knew you were done."

"Whatever Malfoy. What do we have to do."

"Well since I got you into my dream when I get out you'll get out."

"Well how do you get out?"

"All I have to do is say the words." Hermione's mouth dropped open.

"I didn't need to get out of bed for that!"

"Mmmm. I guess you didn't."

"Malfoy!"

"What, Slytherin robes definitely suit you." Hermione rolled her eyes and smacking him playfully on the shoulder. They both gave a small laugh and then froze. Were they just teasing each other? "Um, we better go."

"Yeah"

"Well the words are _'ha camminato sulle nubi scure'_ with the destination at the end, the only one available is Hogwarts." Hermione frowned a bit.

"He walked upon dark clouds? I didn't know you knew Italian." Draco smirked.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me Granger. I didn't know you knew Italian."

"Just a little." The pair paused again, avoiding each other's eyes. They weren't supposed to do civil conversation either.

"Well are you ready now?"

"Yeah." Draco took a deep breath. "Granger," Draco said softly. He turned towards Hermione, looking at her intently. As they gazed at each other, Draco almost regretted his decision to speak. But he _had_ to know.

"D- Did-" Draco gritted his teeth. Malfoys did not stutter. "Did you- In the- When he-" Hermione quickly looked away from him. After a moment she gave a half shrug.

"Forever connected, right?" she whispered, turning back to look at him. Draco felt his stomach plummet. He had seen it in her eyes. The look of someone who _knew_. The remnants. The lingering. That would never leave.

_But how and more importantly why? _

"Right," Draco whispered, tearing his eyes away. They stood for a moment, the air thick around them. Suddenly Draco straightened, looking past her. Hermione glanced at him, almost curiously. She could practically see the infamous Malfoy cold, unfeeling mask slipping into place.

"Ready?" Hermione nodded warily. Draco's eyes hardened. He couldn't leave it like this, all _mushy_ and _nice_.

_Understanding_.

_Caring_.

They were _supposed_ to be _enemies_. Draco smirked looking over his shoulder at her. "So I guess from the way you were dressed before, you were going on a job?" Hermione raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Who was it? Potter? Perhaps Weasley, though your 'services' must be very cheap in order for him to be able to afford it. Or maybe you give 2 for 1 rates to friends?" Hermione's eyes grew wide with recognition and fury.

"Malf-" But Draco had already said the words, a smirk on his face all the way.

* * *

**A.N:** Hope you liked it! Please, please, please review, it means so much even if it just says one word. It lets me know someone is actually reading the story and if there's even a point to continuing it. **Next Chapter:** More surprises for Hermione but it makes her sad. Plus another Hermione with Harry, Ron, and Ginny scene. 


	6. Forever Connected Letters

**Chapter 6**

**Forever Connected-- Letters**

* * *

Hermione woke up in her own bed. "Mmmm." she murmured, snuggling in her bedcovers. _It's good to be back. _She rolled over._ But it's not as comfortable as Malfoy's bed._ Hermione groaned. _That sounded so wrong_. Sitting up, Hermione reached for her wand. _Now about that tattoo._ She didn't want to end up in Draco's so-called 'dreams' again. She cast a repelling charm on her hand and the tattoo. _There._ Looking at the clock, she groaned again. _12:31_. It would be almost impossible for her to go back to sleep. But after much tossing and turning Hermione finally drifted off.

* * *

tap. tap. 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! CRASH!

Hermione shot up and instinctively looked back at the clock. _6:29_. She groaned. "Will I ever get some peace?!" Hermione walked over to the window. "_Reparo_!" She looked around for the cause of the mischief, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She started to go closer, when she stepped on something squishy. The next moment a pain shot through her big toe. It was… biting her?! The thing let go and flew into the air. By the moonlight, Hermione could see it was a very disgruntled owl. She scowled at it. "Couldn't it have waited until breakfast?" The owl ignored her and calmly dropped a letter at her feet. It flew to the window and tapped its beak on it. It swiveled its head toward her with a look that clearly said, 'don't make me have to break it again.' Hermione opened the window and the owl flew into the night sky. Hermione sighed. _Stupid bird._ She picked up the letter and sat down on her bed. The envelope itself was blank. No 'To:' or 'From:'. Frowning, Hermione opened it.

* * *

_To our dearest daughter Hermione,_

_We hope this letter reaches you and was not intercepted, but if you don't get this we suppose you'll find out in good time. First of all, we want you to know that we love you and will always be there for you when you need us. Second of all, we would like to inform you that, by order of the Ministry of Magic, we are not allowed to contact you in any way, shape, or form. No owling, no visiting, ever again… well until you are of age. This is why we had hoped this got to you without trouble. We wanted you to hear this from us first, rather than some uptight Ministry official or a woman you don't even remember. I suppose we should tell you right off that we are not your real parents. But before we get ahead of ourselves let us tell you the story._

_About 16 years ago we wanted to adopt a baby girl. So we went to an adoption agency, Fairy Tales. Little did we know the agency was run by wizards that took in muggle and wizarding babies. Muggle babies were given to muggles; wizarding babies were given to witches and wizards. The instant we walked in an elderly man rushed up to us.  
"You two are just right." he said. Obviously we were confused, but we just smiled and followed him._

"_Come with me." he said, leading us around the corner to a secluded area. We were even more confused when we stopped at a door marked 'Broom Closet'. The man opened it and led us in. The sight that met our eyes was unbelievable. People everywhere were walking around in bright colored robes, things were floating in the air. A woman then walked up to us._

"_Is that them?" she said to the man, ignoring us._

"_Yes, I think they'll do just fine." She turned around gave us a critical eye._

"_Are you sure Albus? They don't look very… capable."_

"_They'll do fine Minerva, don't be so critical." The man, now known as Albus, turned to us and smiled. We'll never forget how his eyes could twinkle. "She's in here." He led us to a small room in the corner. On the table there was a pink carrier. He lifted something out of it and placed it in my (mom's) arms. "She's perfect." he said, looking straight into my eyes. I looked down and saw the most beautiful baby girl… you. We both looked at each other and knew that this man was right; you were perfect for us. How he knew we didn't care, we just wanted to sign the papers and bring you home; we didn't need to see anyone else. We looked at him and simply nodded. We thought he'd be even more ecstatic, but instead his eyes darkened a bit. Gently he took you from my arms and placed you back in the carrier. I almost resisted, pulling you back away from him, I felt so empty now without you there in my arms; even though I just held you for a few seconds. Albus motioned to the seats around the table. We sat, wondering what the problem was. The man now looked very grave._

"_It would be my greatest pleasure to give you this baby, but I'm afraid she comes with… attachments." We sighed. Was that all? But of course you know the attachment, you were a witch, or at least came from a wizarding family. It was that day we learned of the wizarding world, convinced by an old man by the name of Albus Dumbledore. But before you go and say 'was that all?' we need to tell you of the other attachment; the bigger attachment._

_Your mother is Christina Delavontá, a pureblood, you might have heard of her. Your father, Thomas Slen was a muggle. As the story goes she got drunk and was on her way to flag down a driver of a 'Dragon Star' (much like a taxi, except it was run for wealthy witches and wizards who wouldn't be caught dead riding public transportation with others 'beneath them' like the Knight Bus). However, before she could do this she met Tom, who might have been slightly tipsy himself. After much talking and flirting Christina, who was most likely inebriated enough to not realize that Tom was in fact not a wizard, agreed to accompany him to his house and, well you can guess what happened after that. The next day when Christina found out her mistake, Tom whet missing. They never found the poor boy. However, during the long investigation they found something larger. _

_They found out about her being involved in Death Eater activities. It was a mighty slip up for her; Aurors had always been suspicious of the Delavontás, like most pureblood families, but one was rarely caught. The Delavontás were known for their intelligence; this is perhaps why they had always managed to slip through the Auror's fingers. A huge trial took place, becoming the new scandal of the wizarding world. Christina ended up being convicted. It was a great pitfall for the family. I suppose their greatest disappointment was losing the Malfoy boy. Did you know you were almost a Malfoy? Christina was supposed to marry Lucius, but after the 'incident' it was called off. _

_Anyways, now came the problem of deciding what to do with her unborn child. Typically, you would have been given to a relative, but considering your parentage they didn't really want you. They almost disowned Christina, but in the end they decided to over look it, the way pureblood families opt to do at times. The 'Let's just forget it ever happened' and then they swept it under the rug, never to be spoken of again. But you, you'd be a constant reminder. And it would be too dangerous to put you there; you know purebloods and there infamous tempers when it comes to people they aren't particularly fond of. So the Aurors offered her a deal, not that she had much choice. They would take you to an adoption agency. At first she refused, how would she know where you were when she got out. The Aurors laughed at this, Christina wasn't high on their list of people getting out on 'good behavior', but they agreed that when, if, she got out the child would be hers, with no more talk of the adopters._

_Then the tedious work of where to place you began. Another wizarding family would be much too risky. The Delavontás had too many enemies ready to kill you, or even the chance of someone 'purifying' the Delavontá name by killing the illegitimate muggle baby. So in the end they decided a muggle would be best to take you. A family that lived somewhere in London where you could be watched; somewhere where no one would find you or know who you were. So the Aurors enlisted help in your very own Albus Dumbledore. And in turn he picked us. Why, we have no clue, but we seem to think he thought all of us would make a good match._

_And now we come to the point in the story were we feel we know what all those arrogant purebloods were talking about when they say 'muggle idiots'. But Hermione we were scared, terrified if you must. So then Albus offered us a deal. We could take the baby, but in a way that we would not be constantly looking over our shoulders or lying to you. We didn't fully understand you see, just newly being acquainted with the wizarding world and all. All we saw was a way to get everything we wanted; you and the safety of what we knew before this. It was called the Perfaclic charm. Much like a memory charm, it took away everything that we had just found out, but was attached to Christina's Azkaban sentence. If something ever happened, the minute the judge ended his signature on the release papers, we would remember everything. It was suppose to automatically come back on your 18th birthday, but something unexpected came up; tragedy struck._

_The Delavontás had never forgotten about their daughter. All these years they still have been working to get her out and about 6 days ago, they succeeded. All the memories came back, we didn't know what to do. We contacted Dumbledore and he tried, but he could do nothing. The Aurors are in shock, but even they must agree that there is nothing to do. About two days after the memories came back we got a letter from the ministry. Basically it said that we were not to contact you at all and no information of you would be given to us. Short and simple, just like that. Obviously we were devastated, so we contacted Dumbledore right away. He helped us get letter through to you._

_We're so sorry Hermione. If we hadn't done that stupid charm that maybe we could have been able to figure something out before this. Please don't try to reply, its too much of a chance. We miss you so much and were doing everything we can. We love you._

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Mom and Dad _

* * *

Hermione sat, dazed, back down on her bed. She stayed like that for a little while, millions of thoughts going through her head. And then she did the weirdest thing; she laughed. It was a soft, but unmistakable laugh. She began to laugh more, hysterically giggling in the most uncharacteristic way, with tears streaming down her face. The giggling ceased; she didn't want to wake the others. It was a relief. She had already known, but yet she didn't. There had always been something a bit off about her family and she had tortured herself every living moment. She wasn't happy about this outcome, but at least it was some sort of closure. Hermione shivered. It was cold. Silently she crept out of her dormitory and down to the Gryffindor common room. She settled herself on the couch closest to the fire. This was nothing to worry about; she'd graduate from Hogwarts in about a year and see her parents again. For now I'll just have to deal with her, _Christina_. I suppose all of this will sink in soon and then I'll cry, but right now I'm too tired and worn out. Hermione sighed. This isn't right. My parents are always going to be my parents and I can't even tell them that. Now I have to meet this woman, my supposed mother and Death Eater, whose been in Azkaban the past 16 years. _And_ even with my new parentage, Malfoy can still call me a Mudbl-. Malfoy. _How does he always manage to creep up on me like that. Can't I have a normal conversation with the voices in my head without that awful name coming up?_

"Ugh."

"Upset about something?" Hermione jumped. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were coming down the boy's dormitory steps. They sat on the couch opposite to her and smiled brightly. Too brightly. Hermione sighed and buried her face into her hands.

"Why," she mumbled, "must you always want to 'talk' when I'm in a bad mood and will probably say things I don't mean." Hermione looked up. "Or at least wouldn't say to your face." Their smiles faded a little. Hermione sighed again. "What are you guys doing down here anyways?"

"It's the Gryffindor common room, last time I checked we were allowed down here," Ron spat. He was still a bit moody from the 'Weasel' incident. Hermione rolled her eyes. _Oh get over it._ Harry and Ginny glared at him. Ron pouted, slumping down farther into the couch. Ginny's smile widened as she looked back at Hermione. Hermione was tempted to tell her not to smile so wide, it probably hurt and Ginny looked like a Botox experiment gone wild.

"I was just talking to Ron and Harry about-" Ginny froze in mid sentence, smile still plastered on her face. The smile widened even more so if possible. She stared panicking, glancing at Harry and Ron, not knowing what to say. Finally Ron made a disgusted noise and rolled his eyes.

"We came down here so we could talk without waking the others." Ron turned to Ginny, putting on a huge smile resembling hers. "See that wasn't so hard was it?" he said in a overly cheery voice. Ginny instantly frowned.

"Hermione." Hermione turned to Harry. At least he was _a bit_ sensible.

"You're our best friend and we care about you. We just want to know what happened and why you acting this ways. It hurts us when-." Harry stopped abruptly and his concerned face darkened. "Is that Slytherin robes you're wearing?" Hermione looked down sharply. Sure enough, she still had Draco's school robes on. She hadn't even noticed. Hermione looked up. They were all glaring at her, waiting for her explanation. _Oh no. What to do, what to do? Think Hermione, think._

"Yes," she said in a calm voice.

"Why!" Harry demanded. Hermione glared at him.

"Don't you dare get snappish with me Harry Potter. I didn't want to. What kind of Gryffindor do you think I am?!" Harry relaxed a bit. "It was a… necessity." His eyes narrowed again. That was all he was going to get out of her?! Hermione stared at him defiantly. He sighed recognizing defeat.

"Well take it off, it looks hideous on you." Hermione made a small 'hmph'. Malfoy had said it suited her. Hermione shook her head. There he goes again. "No?" Hermione looked up at Harry and shrugged.

"I can't." she whispered. There was no way she was letting them see what she had on underneath, even if they were going to hate her. Especially with her being in the middle of the Gryffindor common room and two of her best friends being boys.

"And why not," Ginny said angrily.

"_Because,_" Hermione said looking at her straight in the eyes. Ginny frowned, before her eyes widened.

"Oh. Ohh." Harry and Ron's eyes were wide with recognition too. Ron was bright red.

"Y- you do- don't," Ron cleared his throat, going even more red, "have anything underneath," he squeaked. Hermione shook her head.

"Not exactly." Ron nodded.

"So you still have on your, ah...er-." Hermione decided to spare him the embarrassment.

"Yes, kind of."

"Why?" Harry said, not in the least bit red. Hermione saw the disgust in his eyes. He strode over to her, reaching out his hand. At first she thought he was going to hit her, but he just pulled out her collar. "D.M?" _Oh no_. Now his face was red, red with fury.

"So is that the big secret then? You're fucking Draco Malfoy now. It all makes sense; the 'other activities', calling Ron Weas-" Harry was cut off by Hermione's hand, slapping him… hard. Hermione was shaking in rage.

"Don't you ever, EVER do that again Harry Potter!" She had expected this from Ron maybe, but Harry? "You claim to be my friends, but here you are accusing me like you barely know me! You're my friends, you're suppose to be there for me." Tears were welling up in her eyes. She sat back down on the couch, the events of the past few hours washing over her. She couldn't take this. Malfoy, her parents, her friends. It was too much.

"Don't you guys get it," she said softly, tears streaming down her face. "I'm trying, I really am, but… I can't do this you guys." Harry sat down in front of her still rubbing the side of his face.

"Hermione we're not mad at you, we are your friends and we don't want to make things harder on you." Ron and Ginny came to sit in front of her too. "We just want to know what's going on." Hermione sighed. They were her friends; she needed to give them something.

"Do you guys trust me?" Ginny smiled slightly.

"With all our hearts 'Mione."

"Then you'll have to trust me on this. I suppose I could tell you about the first event, when Malfoy and I disappeared. We were on our last patrol when Malfoy said something, I don't really remember what. I got really mad and we started fighting. Then when I turned to go into the corridor I fell and went into the portal. The steps had moved. I have no clue how Malfoy got there. You'll have to ask him if you want to know that. As for what happened after that-," Hermione breathed shakily, "I can't tell you all the details. All I can say is that Malfoy and I are now undoubtedly connected forever, whether we like it or not, which I can assure you we don't. The second thing was not entirely my fault. Ron I'm really sorry for calling you Weasel. It's just… it had to do with Malfoy and I being connected. No, I won't start acting like him, but sometimes this 'connection' affects me," Hermione scowled slightly, "curtsey of Malfoy trying to be funny. And when I yelled at you guys… hey I just found out I had a 'connection' with Malfoy! I was tired and confused; everything was just too much. Then with robes, well, lets just say this connection took me some place I wasn't suppose to be and I needed to borrow his robes. As for the fourth thing-"

"Fourth thing?!" Ron interjected incredulously.

"Yes fourth thing. I just got a letter. And," Hermione paused, looking down, "It's terrible," she whispered. I can't tell you everything right now, I'm tired and it's too painful. But I will explain it on the train. It'll be easier that way. You guys just have to trust me on this one. I'm sorry you guys. I know you're my friends and are just trying to understand, but I can't go into detail about the other three things just yet. Maybe one day, but just not now." Harry looked at her imploringly.

"Are you sure you're okay 'Mione?" Hermione smiled.

"Positive. So are we good now?"

"Yeah I suppose," Ron said. "But you do know you'll have to tell us someday." Hermione grinned.

"Yes, of course Ron." The four stood. "Well I've got to go take a shower and get these robes off of me." Harry nodded.

"Definitely."

"How are you going to get them back to him?"

"Oh, I guess tomorrow at breakfast," she said calmly. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"In front of everybody?" Hermione grinned to herself, walking up the girls' dormitory stairs.

"Precisely," she said under her breath. Hermione was so going to get him back for that prostitute comment.

* * *

A.N: I know, I know I haven't updated in forever. Please forgive me. I had decided to take a little break from Fnet; I needed to do other things, kinda get my life back in order. You know school comes first. Anyways I finally finished checking over this chapter and posting it. Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Suggestions are a must; I'd really appreciate them. Thankx to all my Chapter 5 reviewers!!! 


	7. Baby Pictures and Hurricanes

**Chapter 7 **

**Baby Pictures and Hurricanes **

* * *

The Great Hall radiated with excitement of the last day of school. Students reminiscing about the year, making plans for summer, enjoying the last breakfast they would have with their friends… in other words the Hall was so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. This is why, except for a curious look from Ginny, no one noticed when Hermione rose from the Gryffindor table. Hermione just smiled at Ginny and continued to rummage through her bag. Ginny's eyes narrowed. What was she up to? 

Hermione pulled out a black robe. Ginny saw a flash of an evil smirk before Hermione put on a blank face. With a purposeful air, Hermione started to walk across the Great Hall. Slowly a silence fell over the students. What was she doing? Where was she going? Normally people would ignore things like this, but it wasn't everyday that a member of the Golden Trio, Hermione Granger no less, visited another table. Hermione tried to control the wicked smile trying to rise to her face. She knew everyone was watching her. _Perfect_. Hermione stopped abruptly behind Draco.

"Ahem." Hermione cleared her throat, sounding chillingly like Umbridge. Slowly, Draco turned around to face her. He sneered.

"What do you want Mudblood." Hermione winced slightly at the 'M-word', but kept her calm. She silently pulled the robe from behind her back and held it out daintily to Draco. He raised his eyebrows. What was she doing? _Well two can play at this game._ Draco missed the wicked gleam in her eyes. "Thank you Granger dear." Draco stood and slipped the robe over his clothes. Hermione, her face still blank, walked back to her seat and sat down. The Gryffindors looked at her expectantly. Hermione put an evil smirk on her face. The table raised their eyebrows, but were satisfied for now. Murmurs were flying all over the Hall. Catches of _'Hermione and Draco!'_, various giggles, and some slight gagging noises could be heard from most tables. The Slytherins however, were sitting very still.

"Draco," Pansy hissed, "don't turn ar-." But it was too late. Draco had turned around.

"What?" All the Slytherins paled. Hermione turned around in her seat to admire her handiwork.

_And in 3..2..1._ The entire Great Hall burst out laughing (with the exception of the Slytherins of course, but they don't count anyway).

On the back of Draco's robe in jagged red and gold lettering were the words 'Slytherins Suck'. Underneath, with a golden border, was a picture of Draco himself as a baby, sucking his thumb. The picture itself was quite adorable.

Ron turned to her his face red with laughter. "Where d- did you -get that -_picture_," he managed to get out between his gasps for air. Hermione grinned.

"It's the perks of being a bookworm, Ron. You find out things other people don't. Every pureblood family has a book about them, including a chapter on their heirs… with pictures." Ron dissolved into another fit of laughter. Hermione grinned wickedly. "And the best part is you can't get it off with magic, you have to use good ol' fashioned soap and water, only to be done by the owner." Harry turned to her also laughing.

"Good joke 'Mione, but I think you might have gotten Malfoy mad." Sure enough, Draco was striding towards her, rage in his eyes. Hermione gulped, he looked quite scary when he was angry.

Just then, two identical brown owls flew into the Great Hall, hooting loudly, as if they were of the utmost importance. One dropped a letter into Hermione's lap. The second flew directly towards Draco. He waved it away, still on his warpath toward Hermione. The owl hooted again urgently. Angrily he snatched the letter and tore it open. His rage seemed to fade as he read. Instead of immeasurable anger his face slowly contorted into an evil smile.

And somehow, that smile scared Hermione more than the angry Draco.

With the same crazy expression he sat down (minus the robe) and continued to calmly finish his breakfast. Everyone tore their gaze from him to see Hermione's reaction. Quickly, she tore open the letter. Her gaze flew over it. Hermione's eyes widened with shock and anger.

"No, no, no!" She didn't care that everyone in the Great Hall was looking at her. "This is not happening!" Draco was watching her with the rest of the school, that same evil smile on his face.

"Oh but Granger, it is happening." Hermione glared at him venomously. Hermione rose, turned on her heel, and stormed out of the Hall, Harry, Ron, and Ginny running after her.

The three caught up with her just as she said the password to the Gryffindor Tower. "'Mione-"

"On the train." Hermione said in a monotone voice without turning around. "I'll talk on the train." She stalked into the Gryffindor common room, the portrait slamming behind her.

"Well!" the Fat Lady huffed. Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked at each other and shrugged, walking back to breakfast.

* * *

Hermione raced up the girl's stairs to the dormitories. Quickly, she locked the door and jumped onto her bed, her face buried in her pillow; then she screamed, loud. Hermione lifted her head and took several deep breaths_. Calm down. It's okay. Everything is going to be just fine._ Hermione groaned. _It not going to be fine, this is a disaster._ She sat up and leaned against her headboard. Sighing Hermione picked up the letter to read it over, hoping-- praying, that she had missed something. That she really wouldn't have to do that.

* * *

_Dear Ms. Granger:_

_We have been informed that you have received a letter from your muggle guardians, despite our warnings. Though this does save us the time of having to explain things, it still was wrong and very illegal; they most definitely shall receive a hefty fine._

_The purpose of this letter is to give you the_ _details concerning your new situation. As you know your biological mother, Christina of the Delavontá family, is now out of Azkaban. She is officially your legal guardian. You are to nullify any contact with your former legal muggle guardians. I can assure you that a mistake like before will not happen again. Ms. Delavontá does not have a permanent residence yet and is currently residing at the Malfoy Manor. She felt it would be easier to remain in London for a while before proceeding to the Delavontá Chateau in France. You will be joining her there when school let's out. Mr. Malfoy has asked us to inform you that Draco, Mr. Malfoy's son also attending Hogwarts, will accompany you to your house to collect your belongings and then escort you to the Manor. Your muggle guardians will not be there. You will be contacted if further details come up and may contact me if any questions arise._

_Best regards,_

_Susana Fletch_

_Secretary of the Ministry of Magic_

_P.S. All of us at the Ministry, and I personally are truly sorry for this situation and would like to apologize. We wish to let you know that we are doing everything we can to help you in this difficult predicament. _

* * *

Hermione groaned rereading it for the millionth time. She'd have to stay with Malfoy! One Malfoy was bad enough, but all three was… Hermione shuddered, rolling over to look at her clock. _9:10._ They'd be lining students up for the train in 15 minutes. Sighing, Hermione gathered her things and went down to the common room. Slowly, other Gryffindors trickled in, back from breakfast. A couple people approached her, about to say something, but one look at her eyes told them to steer clear. But that didn't stop them from throwing her glances every few seconds and talking in hushed voices to their friends. After a few more minutes of this Hermione couldn't take it anymore. 

"I'll meet you guys in the Great Hall, okay?" Ron and Harry were about to protest, but Ginny nudged both of them.

"Okay 'Mione," she said. Hermione gave her a grateful smile and walked down to the Great Hall. Waiting in the hallway she heard footsteps coming from behind. She turned and groaned loudly.

"What? Not happy to see me Mudblood?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"The day I'm happy to see you is the day your home in hell freezes over." Draco sneered, walking towards her until he was inches from her face.

"At least I have a home to go to," he leaned in, his mouth next to her ear, "and parents that would be _delighted_ to see me." Hermione's eyes flashed.

"Stop lying to yourself Malfoy," she hissed back. "No one would ever be happy to see you, _especially_ your own parents." Draco's seeker skill took over; he hardly knew what he was doing. Fast as lightning, he shoved her against the wall, her wrists pinned against each side of her face. Hermione's head hit the wall hard; she winced slightly, still staring him straight in the eyes. His eyes were full of fury as he pressed harder on her wrists unknowingly. Hermione was determined not to let him get the best of her.

"Stuck a nerve, did I then?" she said, softy staring at him. He slammed her against the wall again. She winced, her head and wrists throbbing painfully. There would be bruises tomorrow. Draco was taking short breaths, his face contorted as though he was so angry he couldn't say anything. Involuntary tears came to her eyes. Her defiance was gone now. They still had another good five minutes until anyone came to the Hall. She had seen Malfoy mad, but his fury this time was like nothing before. Who knew; Malfoy had an even darker side. Hermione whimpered; she couldn't feel her wrists.

"Malfoy," she choked out, "you're- you're hurting me." Draco, who seemed to be in another world, snapped his eyes back into focus. He let go slowly, avoiding her gaze. _What did I do?_

Pictures and voices swam in his head. Draco winced, bringing his palms to his temples. He shook his head slightly trying to rid it of the things in his mind. _…his father's cold, grey eyes…"Never!" he shouted…him sitting in a corner, shivering…"you're just like your father," an icy voice hissed…him clutching his stomach…"You will join the Dark Lord!" his father yelled…his mother lying bloodied and unconscious on the floor…his father's wand pointing at his chest… him running, running somewhere…_

"No," he whispered, "no."

Hermione stared at him. _What was going on? What was happening?_ She started to slide away from him. Draco's head shot up at her movement, his arms back down to his sides. His eyes met hers for a moment before looking away. Hermione stared at him again, afraid to move. _What was he doing? What was going on?_ Draco never avoided anyone's eyes.

"Is everything alright here?" Professor McGonagall had entered the Hall. She looked curiously from Hermione to Draco. Hermione looked apprehensively at Draco before slowly sliding from under him. Malfoy was avoiding both her and McGonagall's gaze. Hermione looked back at McGonagall.

"Everything's fine professor," she said in a small voice.

"Well, if you say so Ms. Granger," McGonagall replied, still looking at them curiously. The three of them stood there, silent in the middle of the Hall. McGonagall cleared her throat, trying to clear the uncomfortable silence. "I guess it's almost time to go on the train." Sure enough, students started to pour into the Great Hall. The first couple people stopped short at the sight of a very uncomfortable Draco and a rather sheepish looking Hermione.

"Lets move along students," McGonagall said. "That's it, everyone file in." Everyone hurried in, the noise in the Hall greatly rising. The rumors that Hermione had escaped before were flying all around her now.

"_How the hell did that ugly bookworm manage to get him!" _

"_What was Hermione doing alone with Malfoy!"_

"_Are you crazy, there is no way Draco_ _would fall for that Mudblood." _

"_She called Ron 'Weasel' last night-- in front of the entire common room!" _

"_Bet she put a love potion in his pumpkin juice. Ha! Probably the other way around."_

"_Who knew, the Gryffindor Princess has gone over to the Dark Side."_

"_Probably got caught snogging by McGonagall."_

"_I heard they created a secret love portal."_

"_Yep, she's a full fledged Death Eater."_

"_The Gryffindor Princess and the Prince of Slytherin, no way!"_

"_Did you hear what happened yesterday?"_

"_Didn't you know? They've been secret lovers for years now."_

Hermione was shocked. Who in the world would believe these things? Then again she had fallen into a portal of two past lovers, got connected with a tattoo to Malfoy, been in his house, room, _and_ bed, got a taste of the Cruciatus Curse, learned that her real mother was a Delavontá, and found out that she might be living with Malfoy for the rest of the year. Hermione laughed inwardly. What had happened to her life?

* * *

"So basically that's all I found out. My mom's a Death Eater and I have to spend the rest of the summer with Malfoy." Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione. 

"You poor girl. All this time you were going through this and then last night we were just perfectly awful to you." Ginny's eyes started to well up with tears.

"Oh Gin it's okay," Hermione said, tears now also streaming down her face. Harry and Ron looked at each other. _Girls,_ they mouthed.

"We saw that!" Ginny and Hermione said laughing, their crying ceasing. Hermione stretched and yawned.

"I'm so tired." Harry looked at her curiously.

"What's that on your arm 'Mione?" Hermione quickly lowered her arms folding them.

"Nothing," she said a bit too quickly. Harry walked over to her.

"Lemme see."

"It's nothing Harry, let it go." Harry's eye gleamed wickedly.

"Oh really?" Suddenly he began to tickle her.

"No," she said laughing, "Stop! I give, I give!" Harry grabbed her arms. Hermione stopped laughing as Harry frowned.

"What happened?" There were purplish-blue bruises on her wrists. Hermione wretched her arms out of his hands, hiding her wrists back under her sleeves.

"I said it was nothing, just drop it okay," she whispered, avoiding his gaze.

"Did _he_ do this to you?" Ron said, his face tuning a bright, angry red. "When you guys were alone in the Hall and you said _nothing_ happened." Harry stood up, rage in his eyes.

"We'll kill him." Such venom was in his voice… she thought he just might do it. Hermione opened her mouth to stop them, but Ginny replied first.

"No. You two sit down_. I_ am going to handle this." She stormed out the compartment. Harry looked like he was considering going after her, but Ron pulled him down. He knew Ginny could handle herself. What did you expect, she had grown up with six brothers. Brothers that sometimes got on her last nerve.

* * *

Ginny stormed through the compartments of the Hogwarts Express, her fiery red hair billowing behind her. People slunk out of the way as they saw the hurricane of red flying towards them. 

Ginny found the compartment she was looking for. Pansy and Blaise, who where sitting down on one side, looked up at her. Malfoy, who was stretched out on the whole other side, didn't even bother to open his eyes. Crabbe and Goyle were supposedly stuffing their faces, leaning against the compartment door she had just opened. The two fell backwards and were now stupidly staring up at a scowling Ginny. Ginny threw them a disgusted look, stepping over them.

"I want Malfoy," she growled. Draco laughed, slightly opening one eye.

"Don't we all Weaselette, don't we all." The five cackled. Ginny growled again, fire in her eyes.

"Out! Everyone except Malfoy! Now!" They smirked at her. After several minutes of intense glaring, sneering, growling, and snarling, Draco lazily waved his hand.

"Out. Let me deal with the Weasley." The group started to walk out of the compartment. Pansy turned around.

"Draco baby are you sure? I mean-" Draco sighed irritably.

"Just go Parkinson."

"But-" Blaise dragged her out of the compartment. Draco kept his position, laying relaxed on the seat, smirking at her.

"So, what's this all about little Weaselette that's not so little anymore?"

"You know perfectly well what this is about Malfoy." Draco smirked.

"Refresh my memory _Ginevra_," he said, getting up and walking over to her. He put his face inches from hers.

"Hmmm, Weaselette?" Ginny's eyes flashed. Draco winced, his head throbbing painfully. Ginny had shoved him against the wall. He hadn't even seen it coming. The girl had strength; not many people could do that. Draco smirked at her, regaining his calm.

"Tut, tut, tut, Weasley. Didn't anyone ever teach you violence is not the only way?" Ginny jabbed a finger in his chest.

"Listen up Malfoy, cause I'm only going to say this once. Don't you ever lay a finger on Hermione again. If there is so much as a scratch on her pretty little head-" Draco snorted. _Pretty?_ "Oh don't act like you don't find her the least bit attractive, because Malfoy-" Ginny leaned in, now whispering, "I know you do. I've seen it with my own two eyes." Draco rolled his eyes. Ginny continued.

"_One. Scratch. _And we will find you; me, Ron, and Harry and let me make this clear… we _will_ get you. There will be no Hermione to save you, to say to 'just let it go', not that time. Am I understood?" Draco sighed, rolling his eyes once again.

"Yes your highness. Am I dismissed now?"

"No. There's one more thing-"

"And what would that be?" Ginny glared at him.

"Malfoy I do not like you, in fact I wish I could throw you off a very tall building, but further more I do not trust you…"Ginny sighed dejectedly, "but I trust that Delavontá women and your parents, particularly your _father_, even less, if that's even possible. Malfoy I don't know what goes on at your house, nor what will go on this summer. I do know that Hermione is a very smart, very capable witch, and can handle any situation perfectly well and she-"

"Just get to the point Weaselette." Ginny glared at him once more.

"I'm putting her in your hands while she is at your house. You are to protect her to the best of your ability and no harm is to come to her." Ginny backed away from Draco and turned to leave. He stared at her.

"You have to be kidding me." Ginny looked at him over her shoulder.

"Does it look like I'm kidding? Remember, _one scratch_ and I'm holding you responsible." She walked out of the compartment, slamming the door. Glaring at the waiting Slytherins, she stalked pass them. The four glared back at went into the compartment. Blaise looked at Draco curiously.

"What was that all about Draco?" Draco glanced at the door that Ginny had so passionately stormed out of.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

* * *

**A.N: **Two. Months. I am so sorry! I cannot believe it took me two whole months to update! How in the world did that happen! Oh well, it might have something to do with my life virtually spinning out of control but… anyway the point is I'm back now. I hope ya'll liked the chapter (yes I've lived in the north for most of my life but I still say ya'll). Now is the part where I get down on my knees and beg for reviews. Please, **please**, review, even if it's just to say that you actually read it. I beg of you! Feel free to tell me where I made mistakes in all chapters cuz thanks to the new Backup/Export feature I can go back and change it! Yay! Thankx ever so much! 

**Next Chapter:** Um… Welll… (does this give hint that I haven't finished it yet?) Malfoy and Hermione do as the letter instructs, going to her house to pick up her belongings and then it's off to the Malfoy Manor! Malfoy has a car! But don't worry, its strictly wizarding (we'll _he_ says so).


	8. Cinnamon

**A.N.** Hee, hee. Hey Everybody! _backs away as screaming mob of reviewers advances_ I know, I know three months between updates this time. I'm really really sorry; I've been super busy, but I carry my story around all the time and work on it every free minute I have. But come on you have to take into account this chapter was at least 30 pages with is **more than double** my longest chapter before this (which was only about 9 pages). I know most people might prefer shorter chapters quicker, but it's just not possible right now. I think my problem was organization (grrr hate that word), but that's fixed now. So without further ado here is Chapter 8.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Cinnamon**

* * *

Hermione stepped off the train. Quickly, she glanced around, hoping, that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't real. That in a second or two someone would jump out and yell, 'Fooled you!' and Hermione and her parents would have a good laugh and go home. There'd be no more talk of Christina Delavontà or spending the summer with the Malfoys. Hermione waited, frantic with hope. 

"Please," she whispered. "Please." A tear fell down her face. She wiped it away furiously. "No Hermione, you've got to be strong, you have to help yourself. You're the only one that can." For the second time in her life Hermione felt truly alone. She hadn't felt this alone since her first day of Hogwarts and even then everything wasn't all bad. There was still- someone rammed into Hermione sending her out of her reverie and making the books she was holding go crashing to the ground.

"Watch it Mudblood." Hermione glared at the perpetrator.

"Malfoy," she spat. Grumbling, she knelt down to pick up her books. Malfoy sneered.

"See you've finally found your place Mudblood, beneath me." Malfoy threw a crumpled piece of parchment at her.

"Here, maybe you can use that to wipe some of that Mudblood filth off you." Smirking, he stalked past her. Hermione was about to throw the paper back at him, when she caught a glimpse of writing on it, and besides, chucking it at him would be horribly childish of her. Carefully she flattened out the paper. In smooth, elegant handwriting were the words,

_Meet me in the alleyway around the corner. I don't want to be seen with you._

Hermione scowled. He didn't want to be seen with _her_. Hermione gathered her things and stepped through the barrier. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had agreed to say their goodbyes outside. It was too noisy and crowed inside, and they'd never be able to find each other, let alone hear themselves speak. Hermione started to scan the platform, looking for masses of red hair, possibly accompanied by a patch of black. She began walking near the end of the platform when she caught sight of two men with flaming red hair whispering at each other and throwing constant glances at her. Hermione ran up to them beaming.

"Fred! George! It feels like I haven't seen you two for ages. Where's everyone else?" The pair stared at her before George (or maybe Fred, she never could be too sure) leaned over and whispered to his twin,

"How do you reckon she knows our names?" Hermione of course, being right in front of them, heard every word and proceed to look at them confusedly. Fred (or maybe George) put on a wicked grin.

"Who cares?" he said to George, before turning to Hermione. "I'm Fred and this is George, as you seem to already be aware of but," Fred took her hand and kissed it, "we have not yet had the great honor of knowing such a beautiful maiden's name." Hermione blushed scarlet, yanking her hand out of his. She hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"Stop playing around you guys, you know perfectly well that I'm Hermione."

"Ouch," said Fred, rubbing his shoulder. George grinned.

"Ah, so she's beautiful and strong. 'Hermione' did you say. Say Fred, didn't we know a Hermione once?"

"Yes George, I do think so. Wasn't that what Ron and Harry named that brown bush they always carried with them?"

"Fred!" Hermione said indignantly.

"No, no, no, Fred it wasn't a bush," George said. Hermione smiled.

"Thank you Geor-"

"No, it was more of a bird's nest," George continued. Hermione scowled at the both of them. The pair, seemingly oblivious, went on.

"Now that's just silly, it couldn't have been a birds nest, there were no birds."

"Of course there was. I saw one once; a big blue one."

"That was hairclip," Hermione said crossly. The boys ignored her.

"Really? A bird? Are you sure?"

"Yep. And once I swear I saw… _eyes_."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"_Yes_."

"Wow."

"Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, it was a _girl_?" Hermione said irritably. They stared at her. She continued glaring at them, waiting for their answer. Fred and George looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"Now that was a good one."

"A girl, really, of all things a girl."

"Where in the world did you come up with that." They continued laughing, oblivious to Hermione's ever rising anger. Hermione stamped her foot.

"Stop fooling you guys! It was a girl." Hermione paused, then shook her head, "I mean she was a girl." Hermione stopped again, frowning. Fred and George quirked an eyebrow before bursting out laughing again. Hermione grew red in the face.

"I WAS A GIRL!" she yelled. Dozens of people on the platform turned to look at her. _Oh that sounded so wrong._ Fred and George looked at her identical 'o' forming on their faces.

"You mean you aren't anymore!" George said incredulously. Hermione sighed.

"No, of course I am you dolt." The twins breathed a sigh of relief.

"Perhaps it was a girl," Fred said thoughtfully.

"Yes maybe. But you couldn't possibly be her. The bush- the girl didn't look anything like you, she was much smaller and well, no offense to her, ungirlish." Hermione glared at him.

"What?"

"It hasn't been that long, barely a year, so stop pretending before I do something drastic." Hermione pulled out her wand, twirling it in one hand (looking remarkably like Malfoy when he had done it, but she'd never admit it).

"You can't use that," George said rather uncertainly.

"Oh but I can," Hermione whispered, "Special privileges, for practicing my advanced classes." Fred and George stared at her for a moment before George suddenly grinned.

"Look who it is Fred, 'Hermione'!"

"Really, is that you Hermione?" Fred smirked wickedly. "My, my, haven't we… _grown_." Hermione looked at him, astonished. "You- how- why would- evil- bastard- that's the most-" Hermione continued sputtering staring at him. Fred and George stifled a laugh.

"Well let's find the others, shall we. Bet your dying to see them, aren't you 'Mione?" The two started to walk off a dazed Hermione trailing behind them. The three finally managed to find the group, well, Fred and George found them.

"Fred! George!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "There you are! We were wondering where you had gotten off to. Oh good you found Hermione. It's so good to see you again Hermione dear, how- are you feeling okay dear?" Mrs. Weasley had caught sight of Hermione's dazed face. Hermione looked at her, then to Fred, then to Mrs. Weasley, and back to Fred once more. She blinked, then WHAM, she punched Fred in the shoulder. A small 'ow' emitted from Fred before he sunk to the ground in pain. Hermione smiled brightly at Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh everything's fine."

* * *

The group continued to talk for a few minutes, mostly about Fred and George's new business, much to Mrs. Weasley's disapproval. The Dursleys then pulled up. Harry loaded his things, still talking to the Weasleys. 

"Come on boy," Uncle Vernon said after a few seconds. Harry ignored him and continued talking. "I said lets go!" Vernon barked. Rolling his eyes, Harry said goodbye to the Weasleys. Last he came to hug Hermione.

"Take care of yourself this summer 'Mione. If anything happens, anything at all, just owl me okay. I'll be there, I promise." Hermione smiled up at Harry. He was such a good friend.

"Of course Harry."

"Come on boy, lets go, now!" Vernon yelled, looking frantically around. He didn't like to stay in one place with Harry too long. Harry smiled at Hermione and rolled his eyes once more.

"Bye you guys." Waving, he stepped into the car and before he could even shut the door Uncle Vernon sped off. The Weasleys and Hermione laughed.

"That man," mumbled Mrs. Weasley.

* * *

Draco paced back and forth. _Where the hell is she! What am I going to do._ Draco peered around the corner at the train platform. No one was in sight except for the Weasleys and of course Hermione Granger. What in the world was she doing? And what was he going to do. Draco smacked himself in the forehead (mentally obviously). _Of course!_ Draco placed a hand on his tattoo. _Granger!_ Hermione scowled. 

_Go away Malfoy._

_I want to leave._ Hermione smirked.

_Too bad. Oh yeah, thanks for the tip on the mind barriers._ Hermione blocked him out. Draco swore loudly.

_How dare she!_ Draco peered around the corner again. He'd just have to go and get her that's all. _No big deal._ Draco walked out of the alleyway, casting fugitive glances around. He sighed. No one from school was around. Draco walked up to the family of Weasleys, stopping behind Hermione. The Weasleys glared at him.

"What do you want Malfoy," Fred spat. Draco ignored him.

"Lets go Granger."

"She's not going anywhe-" George started, but Hermione raised a hand to stop him. He looked curiously at her. "What?"

"Ron and Ginny will explain later," she whispered. Hermione turned to face Draco. "I'm not ready to go yet." The four Weasleys' mouths dropped open.

"Well I am." He started to walk away. Draco stopped and turned when he didn't hear her behind him. Hermione in fact was not following him, just standing there with a smirk on her face.

"Mud-" Draco started to sneer. All six Weasleys clutched their wands. Draco sighed.

"Fine Granger. I'll leave you then." He started to walk again. Hermione snorted. Draco turned around and walked back towards her. "You think not?" Hermione put her hands on her hips, talking in her bossy 'know-it-all' voice.

"You know very well that you can't leave me here. Your father told you to pick me up, and that is exactly what you are going to do. In other words," she whispered, "I'm your ticket home Malfoy." Draco glared at her. Hermione stared calmly back. After a few minutes of this staring contest Draco sighed. There was no way his father would accept that she just wouldn't come.

"Two minutes," he growled.

"Seven minutes," Hermione said, sounding bored.

"Two."

"Seven."

"Two!" Draco practically yelled, stomping his foot. He resembled a four year old having a temper tantrum when he couldn't have his favorite toy. Hermione smirked again.

"You're not very good at this compromise thing are you?" Draco glared.

"Five minutes," he ground out with a pained look on his face. Hermione regarded him for a moment. That was a big step for him; it was best not to make him angrier.

"Five minutes then."

"Good," he said and stormed back around the corner. Hermione continued to talk and say her goodbyes to the Weasleys. Exactly five minutes later a black Corvette Convertible screeched to a halt next to them. The window rolled down revealing Draco.

"Come on Granger," he growled.

"Bye you guys," Hermione said. Hugging the family again, she started goodbying once more. Draco sighed, annoyed. Hermione blinked back the flood of tears threatening to come before turning back to Draco and glaring at him. She put her things in the trunk and as soon as she hopped in the car Draco shot off, even faster than Vernon. The pair drove silently; the tension so thick it was suffocating.

"Turn here-" Hermione started.

"I know Granger," Draco sneered, turning sharply.

"Fine, sorry," Hermione stated defensively. She stared angrily at Draco before huffing and looking out the car window. Draco looked over at her.

"You do realize you just apologized to me don't you." Hermione rolled her eyes still refusing to look at him.

"It was a once in a lifetime thing, trust me," she mumbled. Draco sighed, fiddling with a button near the dashboard. Suddenly several buttons appeared everywhere. Hermione flinched slightly. Draco smirked.

"What Mudblood, you didn't think I had a Muggle car did you." Hermione replied with smirk of her own.

"Of course not, Malfoys would never dare be associated with Muggle things."

"You learn fast Granger." Hermione gave him an evil smile.

"You do realize you just complimented me." Draco smirked.

"It was a once in a lifetime thing, trust me." Hermione smiled again, leaning back in her seat, the air in the car more relaxed.

"So you have my address in there then," she said referring to the screen in the car, much like a Muggle GPS (though no one would ever admit it).

"Yah." They sat in a comfortable silence. Hermione grinned.

"So can you go any faster Malfoy? You drive slower than my grandmother." Draco turned to her smirking. He pressed down harder on the gas pedal. Hermione continued smirking. Draco pressed harder. Smirking. Draco floored it. Hermione smiled turning frontward again.

"Better." Needless to say, they made it to Hermione's house in a much shorter time. Draco stopped in front of a beautiful white house. It looked like it had come straight out of a book. It wasn't huge, not nearly as big as the Manor, but still fairly large. The grass was impeccably cut and the perfect shade of green. In the middle was a beautiful stone path leading up to the house. Along the path and the house were flawlessly cut hedges. On each side of the lawn there was a small flower tree. One even had a small birdbath next to it. Draco rolled his eyes. Who knew Muggles could be so meticulous. Hermione stepped out of the car.

"I'll just be a few minutes." Draco smirked, getting out of the car.

"Oh no you don't Granger. I want to see the inside. Especially this room of yours." Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Aren't you worried about getting 'Muggle filth' all over your robes? Breathing contaminated Muggle air?" Draco ignored her and started walking up the path. Hermione ran to catch up with him. He was waiting impatiently by the door.

"Hurry up Granger, we haven't got all day." Hermione ignored him, pulling out her key and opening the door. They stepped inside.

"Welcome to the Granger house Malfoy." He looked around as they walked up the stairs.

"Impressive," Hermione raised an eyebrow. He smirked at her. "For a Mudblood." She glared at him and continued up the stairs. "But what are all these devices for?"

"They're called Muggle things Malfoy. I do live in a Muggle house." Draco quickly dropped the black rectangular object (a.k.a a remote control) he was holding and wiped his hands on his robes. Hermione gave him a look of exasperation. "Come on Malfoy." Hermione opened the door to her room. "My room," she said, flopping down on her bed. Hermione's room was a light shade of green. On the back wall was a huge window with a bed directly in front of it. A mass of forest green sheets with fluffy white pillows covered it with a white canopy to complete it. Draco walked further into the room. On the front wall there were two huge bookshelves with a desk in between them. He sat on the swivel chair turning around a few times. Stopping abruptly, he reached out a hand to steady himself on the desk. Hermione watched as Draco's hand missed the table and he went tumbling off the chair. Hermione burst out laughing. Draco glared at her fiercely from the floor. Hermione reduced her laughter to giggles, trying to stifle them with her hand. She walked over to him and held her hand out, her giggles fully reduced into a big smile. Draco stared at her, looked at her hand, and then back up at her again. Hermione raised her eyebrows. Slowly Draco took her hand; Hermione pulled back helping him up. They quickly let go. Draco regarded her for a moment his face unreadable. Hermione shifted nervously before walking over to her closet pulling out a different trunk.

"Granger, what's wrong with your pictures?" Hermione walked back over to him. "What did you do; hex them or something?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"They're Muggle pictures Malfoy; they don't move." Draco wrinkled his nose.

"Why in the world do you have Muggle pictures?" he said in a disgusted voice, his face the utmost picture of distain.

"Think about it Malfoy. How do you think my Muggle friends would react when they saw my pictures moving whenever they came to my house?"

"You have other friends here?" he said, looking at her incredulously. "Muggle friends? Friends other than Potty and Weasel?" Hermione sighed wearily going back over to the closet.

"If you are referring to Harry and Ron, yes Malfoy, I do have other friends besides them; other friends here; Muggle friends. My entire world does not revolve around Hogwarts."

"Have Potter and Weasley been to your house?" he snorted, "Have they seen all this?" Hermione paused still not turning around.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because Malfoy," she finally turned toward him, "they may be my best friends, but I don't want them to know everything. Contrary to popular belief we are not connected to each other 24/7. I'd like to have something for myself; my home life is just the thing for that." She sighed. "Happy now?" Draco smirked.

"Ecstatic thanks." Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to her packing.

Draco sighed sitting back down on the chair, examining the things on the desk further. Hermione sure did have lots of pictures of her friends. Draco laughed inwardly. What would Potty and Weasel think if they saw all these pictures; all Hermione's other friends. Those two were so clueless, always wrapped up in their own small, pitiful lives. She looked so different than when she was in school. He couldn't put his finger on it, it was like- Draco shook his head. Who cares anyway. It was probably from the lack of a huge bag of every book imaginable to hold her down. Draco sighed. He was bored.

"What's taking so long, Granger?" Hermione glared at him over her shoulder.

"Shut up, I'm trying to decide what to take." Draco rolled his eyes and sighed again. A few seconds went by. Draco gave two more exaggerated sighs. Hermione glared at him again. Draco looked back innocently. A couple minutes went by. Draco began tapping a tuneless beat on the table. _Tap tap tap tappity tap tap tap. _Hermione twitched slightly. Draco paused then started again. _Tappity tap tap tappity._ Hermione visibly tensed. He paused again. _Tap tap tap tap, tap tap tap tap, tap tap tappi-_

"Malfoy!" Hermione had whirled around her face red with anger and annoyance.

"What?" Hermione glared maliciously at him. "Fine, fine." Hermione turned back around with a huff. Draco stuck his tongue out at her.

"I see you." Draco froze his tongue still hanging out of his mouth. _What am I doing!_ Draco's tongue flew back into his mouth faster than it had come out.

"You're rubbing off on me Granger," he mumbled to himself. Hermione laughed silently, not wanting him to know she had heard. _I think that's a good thing Malfoy._

* * *

Hermione looked at her suitcases. _Good. I'm almost done._ Hermione rifled through her closet again. _I wonder what's Malfoy's doing. Maybe he's fallen asleep or something. It's been quiet. _Hermione frowned. _Too quiet._ Hermione whirled around, her mouth falling open in horror. Draco was leaning back on the chair throwing an object up in the air. Hermione followed it with her eyes, the result looking very much like a bobble head doll. She held her breath. Up and down, up and down, up, down, up, down. Draco caught the object and looked up at her. 

"Done yet?" Relief flooded her and with it her faint brain cells telling her she needed oxygen. Hermione gasped trying to catch her breath. She started coughing repeatedly, her eyes watering. Draco just raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to move. Hermione finally caught her breath, her relief replaced by rage.

"What in the world did you think you were doing! Do you know what that is?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's a crystal figurine thing. So what?"

"Yeah, **crystal**, as in it can break!"

"Don't be so dramatic Granger, you have practically a million."

"And each of them are special to me!" she yelled indignantly. "Especially this one!" She snatched it out of his hands. Hermione pointed to two other figures on top of the desk. "These three," she gently put the figure she was holding between the other two, "are my three favorites." Draco stood looking at the figurines more closely. All the crystals on her desk seemed to be of magical creatures, well Muggle 'magical' creatures. The three in the middle were of a dragon, a lioness, and the one that he had picked up, an otter.

"I've had the otter since I was twelve. A- a friend gave it to me." Hermione bit her lip refusing to cry. "And it's not to be touched okay," she said, now glaring at him, "ever."

"Fine, whatever," Draco said, moving to sit back down.

"Oh no you don't. Come on," Hermione said going out the door. "You've been annoying me ever since we got here, and I don't trust you in my room anymore." Draco followed her back down the stairs and into the living room. Hermione motioned to the couch. Draco sat, looking at her curiously.

"This," Hermione said, pointing to a big black box in front of him, "is a television or TV for short." She gave him the rectangular object he had been holding earlier. "This is a remote control. It's for this particular TV." Hermione pressed the button marked 'power'. Draco watched in amazement as pictures came up on the box. Hermione started pressing a button and the pictures changed into completely different scenes.

"How about some soap operas?" Hermione said laughing. Draco stared at her blankly.

"Um, right. Okay, well then what about Muggle sports?" Draco still stared at her. Hermione sighed.

"Just watch a movie okay." She fiddled with some buttons and a list came up. "How about 'Hidalgo'. No. 'Silence of the Lambs'? Not that either. I know; 'Pirates of the Caribbean'."

"A movie?" Draco said slowly. "'Pirates of the Caribbean'? What kind of madness-"

"Just watch it!" Hermione pressed another button and went back up the stairs before he could say anything more.

"'Pirates of the Caribbean'," Draco mumbled, "Who wants to watch some thing called "'Pirates of the Caribbean'." Draco inspected the remote more closely. _Hmmm. Maybe this will change it. Granger always had bad taste anyway._ Draco pressed the button marked . The screen jumped a bit. Draco pressed harder, holding it down. Suddenly screens started changing rapidly. Draco watched in amazement, before letting go. Apparently they were on a ship. Draco listen to a girl yelling at some weird looking old man before she ran out. Then- _Ahh!_ Draco closed his eyes. What kind of freakish things did Granger watch! Draco opened one eye slightly just in time to see a creepy skeleton monkey swing into view_. Oh no I'm not. I refuse to watch these things called 'movies'; at least not this one. No wonder Granger is demented. _Draco pressed some more buttons on the remote. Nothing happened. He pressed another button, holding it down as before. Suddenly the sound went away. Draco growled in frustration. That wasn't what he had wanted. He banged the remote down on the table. A blue screen came up. _Finally_. It was the same sort of screen that Granger had pulled up. _Hmmm. Let's see._ Draco looked at the remote. _How about… this._ He pressed the button marked a few times. 'Bells…' Draco couldn't read the rest. _Oh well, it can't be that much worse than before._ He looked for the button he had seen earlier. 'Select'. _Well that has to do something._ He pressed the button and then the button (which he still found amazing). He let go. The screen was filled with pictures of a man and a woman, doing things that you certainly didn't see everyday. A blue screen flickered across the bottom of the TV. Draco read the words 'Bells and Bunnies' before it disappeared._ Well that explains the rabbit ears._ Draco set down the remote leaning back on the couch. _Interesting, very interesting._

* * *

Alaska Raylean walked up the driveway of the Granger house, looking suspiciously at the black Corvette parked in front. _Hermione's car isn't black; I wonder who's here? _Alaska picked up the key under the mat and opened the door. Hermione was probably in her room packing. _The poor girl. I don't know how the Ministry was doing this to her. Who knows how Hermione's going to take it. The girl may have read a lot of books, but purebloods pride themselves on their secrets from the rest of the world._ Alaska walked into the living room. A blond boy (or man, she couldn't really tell) was sitting on the couch watching TV. _Who the hell is he?_ She glanced at the screen, wishing she hadn't. It wasn't anything she hadn't experienced before, but still, she didn't want to watch other people on television. She looked back at the boy who seemed enraptured by it. He was kind of cute, from behind at least, maybe rich too if that was his car out front, too bad he was probably a perverted loser. 

"Hey," she said. The boy turned to look at her. Okay, she lied; cute was an understatement, he was gorgeous. Not in that daytime-soap-opera kind of way, more like sexy-bad boy-just pulled up in a motorcycle kind of way.

"Hey," he said coolly before turning back. Alaska was impressed. Most people would have jumped a mile high if someone had snuck up on them like that. She hadn't seen that kind of cool since she got back from school. Unless he was… No, not possible. But Hermione did need a way to get home from the platform. Alaska shrugged, going up the stairs. She would ask her later.

* * *

Alaska opened the door to Hermione's room. 

"Her-miio-nee!" Hermione whirled around.

"Alaska!" she screeched, throwing her arms around Alaska. "Oh I thought you wouldn't make it." Alaska rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world 'Mione." The two sat down on the bed. Alaska looked at Hermione, sadness in her eyes.

"So really, how have you been Hermione?" Hermione looked down.

"Well, it's okay I guess I mean-"

"Come on Hermione I know you better than that." Hermione looked back at her friend a solemn look on her face.

"It's been hell." Alaska laughed, Hermione joining in a few minutes later.

"So what now?" Alaska asked, their laughing ceasing. Hermione shrugged.

"Well, I guess I go meet her next at the Malfoy Manor. Possibly stay there the summer. Not much more to it than that." Alaska nodded.

"So you'll owl me when you get there?"  
"Of course." They sat in silence for a while. Hermione inspected her things.

"I think I'm pretty much done." Alaska sat up from the bed.

"Oh Hermione, not to scare you or anything, but just so you know there's a rather hott guy in your living room watching silent porn." Hermione stared at her. Alaska shrugged, laying back down. "Just thought you might like to know." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Alaska," she mumbled. Alaska looked at her with a crooked smile on her face.

"What?" Hermione laughed.

"Let's just take these things downstairs and I'll deal with him." Hermione tugged on the edge of one of her trunks and then dropped it down with a thud. She looked at Alaska.

"Um a little help here, Ms. Newly-Graduated." Alaska smirked.

"_Wingardium Leviosa._" The trunks rose into the air. Alaska smiled triumphantly. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Just try to get them down the stairs safely." Alaska moved towards the door when loud screams and moaning sounds filled the house. Alaska raised an eyebrow.

"I guess it's not silent anymore." They both burst out laughing.

* * *

Draco fiddled with the remote again. _What in the world are all these buttons for?_ Arrows, squares, pluses, minuses, numbers, and on and on. _Hmmm. 'Mute'. Someone that can't speak? Why would-._ Draco looked on the TV screen. _Mute again. No sound, a mute._ Draco laughed. The things Muggles come up with. _So if I just press this button again-_ Draco pressed the button. Loud groaning and panting sounds filled the house. _Interesting. A bit loud, but still, very interesting_. Draco leaned back in the couch. A few seconds later he heard footsteps coming down the steps. _About time. _Hermione walked up to him, snatching the remote out of his hands and turning off the TV. 

"Hey, what was that for!" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't be watching porn, especially in my parent's house, on their couch. And what is up with the volume, the neighbors could have heard it was so loud." Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"It was on the TZ, or whatever, I figured it was common, so why shouldn't I have the volume up loud."

"Well, it kind of is common for some people, but they don't go displaying it around too much."  
"Why not, are they ashamed?"

"Well, yes I guess, but no not really-"

"Then why do they do it, if they're so ashamed. I mean it's a bit weird-"

"Um, okay, not to interrupt or anything," Alaska interjected, "but you do realize you've spent, like, the past 2 minutes talking about this, which, besides the fact that's a tad scary, it really is time to go." Hermione crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ugh you're right, that is scary."

"Why is it scary? Why are they ashamed? Why don't-"

"It just is Malfoy! It just is. Ask someone else." Draco looked at Alaska.

"Don't look at me either." Draco rolled his eyes walking out the door, mumbling something about stupid-ashamed-Muggles. Alaska laughed.

"I'll keep an eye on him until you're ready to leave." Alaska started to walk out the door.

"Oh yah, Mione," she looked to make sure Draco wasn't looking, "what are you going to do about, you know." Hermione sighed.

"I'll think of something." Alaska smirked.

"We'll you better think of something fast, porno-boy over here doesn't look too patient. Hermione laughed, walking up the stairs.

"Don't worry."

* * *

Hermione paced around her room. _Alaska's right. I need to think of something, and fast. What to do? What to do? The trunk?_ No, no she couldn't do that- too dangerous. _A box? No that still includes the trunk._ Hermione put her hands in her jacket pocket, leaning against the wall. She resisted the urge to bang her head against it. Hermione sighed sitting on her bed again, holding it in her lap. _What am I going to do! _She looked down at it again and smiled. Her jacket. Of course.

* * *

Hermione walked out of the front door locking it behind her. Draco and Alaska were leaning against his car giving each other wary looks. _Please don't let him notice. Don't notice. Don't notice._ Hermione made her way down the driveway. Draco raised an eyebrow. He sighed, walking over to her. Hermione looked at him innocently. 

"What?" Draco smirked.

"What did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean?" She tried to move around him. Draco stepped in front of her.

"Don't give me that. It's written all over your face. You really are bad at lying." Hermione tried to move around him once again.

"You're talking nonsense." Draco blocked her. She moved back from him, unconsciously holding her jacket closer to her. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not." Draco tugged on the edge of her jacket. Hermione jerked away from him. "Is something in there?"

"No," she said quickly, "I mean, nothing's there. I told you I don't know what you're talking about."

"Granger," Draco growled.

"No," Hermione said shakily, backing away.

"I thought you knew Granger, a Malfoy always gets what he wants." Draco edged towards her. "Let me see."

"No!" Hermione shouted, running towards the lawn.

"Granger," Draco called, running after her. Hermione glanced behind her, just in time to see Draco closing in.

"Oof," Hermione tripped, falling on her back. A brown streak, shot out of her jacket. Alaska who was currently doubled over in laughter, caught her breath, and called to the streak, picking it up off the ground. Hermione groaned opening her eyes, only to see a smirking Draco leaning over her. He held out his hand.

"I told you I always find out. Come on Granger." Hermione growled taking his hand and then stalking over to Alaska, who was also smirking at her. She scowled. Hermione swore she had Slytherin in her.

"He's right you know." Hermione glared at her taking the streak from her arms. She turned to Draco.

"This," she said holding it in her arms, "is Cinnamon. He's my ferret." Draco stared at her.

"You," he said slowly, "have a ferret." Hermione sniffed indignantly.

"Yes, I have a ferret." Draco smirked, slowly circling her. The scene resembled a hawk scoping out his prey; including the laughing hyena in the distance waiting for a piece of the action.

"A ferret, the very disgraced symbol, the animal representing the entire scorn- mocking of my being." The hawk stopped circling, coming in for its prey. "My, my, my, how many secrets we have hidden from Potter and Weasley." The prey shivered. Oh how he sounded like Professor Snape. "A ferret, the very thing _supposedly_ hated by all of the Golden Trio. But," the hawk cocked his head, "it is the very thing that you keep to care for and love, forever. I wonder what your precious friends would think if somehow they, accidentally, found out about, what do you call it- Cinnamon? The prey's eyes flashed.

"You wouldn't dare." The hawk practically smiled, smelling the fear on his prey.

"Oh but wouldn't I." The prey glared up at the hawk once again.

"What do you want?" The hawk smirked.

"Nothing, for now. The better to blackmail you with my dear." The prey rolled her eyes, brushing pass the hawk and opening the door.

"Lets just go." The hawk smirked. The kill would have to wait 'til another day.

The prey- er, Hermione hugged and said her goodbyes to Alaska before getting into the car. Draco pulled out of the driveway. Hermione stuck her head out the window.  
"Bye Alaska!" Alaska waved.

"See you soon!" And then she apparated.

* * *

Draco drove towards the Manor. 

"So who was that girl? Alaska, you called her." Hermione looked at him curiously.

"Why?" Draco shrugged.

"I don't know, curious I guess. I was just making-" he stopped. Hermione smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Conversation?" Draco rolled his eyes. Hermione smiled delightedly. "Aww do I see a tinge of red on your cheeks. The great Draco Malfoy, blushing?"

"Granger," Draco growled. Hermione stifled a laugh.

"Fine fine, sorry. Her name is Alaska Raylean. She goes to a wizarding school in America but her family travels a lot. She just graduated and I told her to come over after. We met in the park a couple years ago; she was visiting an aunt over here. Not much more to it."

"Raylean." Draco frowned. "Raylean?" Hermione sighed.

"It's pureblood." Draco looked at her surprised. "Look at the road Malfoy," she growled. "Alaska associates with me because she want to. Not all purebloods are total pricks."

"Don't worry Granger, she's just going through a rebellious phase. She'll hate you soon enough."

"I wish all purebloods went through that." Draco smirked.

"I never was weak enough to need it." Hermione glared at him. Oh how she longed to smack that smirk off this face.

"Just drive Malfoy."

* * *

Malfoy knocked on the door to the Malfoy Manor. A small ragged house elf opened the door. Hermione looked down upon it sorrowfully. She hadn't shoved S.P.E.W. down anyone's throats lately, but she still felt strongly about it. The elf bowed lowly. 

"Notter has a message for Master Malfoy and Misses Delavontá." Malfoy looked down at him.

"From?"

"Master and Misses Malfoy, sir. Master says that you should come back in about an half and hour or so. He says to take," he paused and looked up at Malfoy," **Misses** **Delavontá **anywhere she likes. He says he and Misses Malfoy are in a meeting." Malfoy stiffened, his eyes growing darker. The very air around him seemed colder and more foreboding.

"A meeting." Notter looked down quickly, clearly frightened.

"Yes sir, a meeting. Just a meeting."

"Look at me," Malfoy growled. The elf remained staring at the ground, shaking. "Look at me!" He growled again, lifting the tiny elf off the ground by it's collar. The elf squeaked in fright. "What sort of meeting!"

"Just a meeting sirs, I swear." The elf burst into tears. "It's just a meeting." Hermione looked at Malfoy in alarm. She stepped in front of him.

"Put him down," she said softly. "Just put him down." Malfoy looked at the elf, slowly putting him down. Hermione sighed in relief. Malfoy turned, not looking at her or Notter, and briskly walked away. Hermione briefly thanked the shaking elf, and tried to apologize, but he seemed to be terrified of her too. He bowed swiftly, slamming the door. Hermione ran after Malfoy, finding him in the garage. He was leaning against his car. Malfoy sighed, looking up as she came in.

"Where would you like to go?" Hermione stared at him blankly. How could he just- Like nothing happened- Hermione sighed, her mind on overdrive. She was exhausted. Hermione looked back at Malfoy; she didn't think she'd ever understand him.

"Lemme think for a minute."

"Of course." Hermione thought about where she wanted to go. Nowhere special, maybe just pick up a few things. Or perhaps go somewhere and see her friends. Hermione's eyes lit up.

"I know exactly where."

"Anything you wish." Malfoy opened the car door.

"No," Hermione said shutting it with a wicked gleam in her eye, "We'll take my car." Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"Your car?" Hermione smiled, taking a small car out of her purse and setting it on the ground. She bent down and touched the top, closing her eyes. Satisfied, she opened her eyes and stood back up. Slowly the car began to grow. Hermione went around the other side and opened the door.

"My car." Malfoy's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"You- We-" Hermione shrugged.

"We have the same exact car. Well, mine's red of course, but yes it is the same type, wizarding and everything." Hermione let the top of the car down. She looked back at Malfoy.

"Well get in." Malfoy got into the car tentatively. "Seat belts." Hermione waited patiently while Malfoy tried to put on his seat belt. _Click_. Hermione's quaint smile turned into a rather evil one. Utmost terror gripped at Malfoy's insides. He could practically taste the impending doom. Malfoy tightened his grip on the seat as Hermione started the engine. What had he gotten himself into.

* * *

Draco tightened his grip on his seatbelt. He hadn't let go of it since they had sped out of the driveway. That's how they would find him; the car thrown off a cliff, him thrust against it's crabby shores, a lone strip of seatbelt clasped between his pale, mottled, bloodily dismembered hands. Draco's face turned even paler at the thought. It wasn't so much that he was scared of becoming some speeding accident statistic, it was just that he had never seen Granger act so… liberated? He thought that maybe, just maybe, Granger had really finally gone insane. Draco looked over at her. She really did look like a madwoman. Her hair was flying wild in the wind with the radio blasting; and she told him the TV was too loud. It was currently playing some song called _Scars_ by Papa Roach. Really very sadistic song actually. Hermione turned into a parking space in front of a building called 'Starbucks'. She quickly pressed a button on the dashboard and turned to Draco. 

"Now don't throw a hissy fit, but I had to press the Muggle button." Draco looked at her quizzically. The Muggle button? He didn't have a Muggle button. Draco shrugged. "I mean we can't just have you walking around in robes. And don't try pressing the button again, I locked it." This got Draco's attention. _Robes?_ Draco looked down and could hardly contain the scream of extreme horror clawing at his throat. He was wearing _gasp_ Muggle clothes. Hermione smiled innocently. "Oh and I hope you don't mind the skater look. It seemed most fitting. Toodles," Hermione said in a perky voice before whisking away into the store. Draco looked down at himself still in shock. He was wearing some sort of black, long sleeved top made with a rather heavier material and a hood on it. In the center was the word _Independent_ with a red and white cross-like logo. He had on a baggy pair of pants of rather roughish material and his shoes, well if you would call them shoes were really kind of big and squishy. He looked like a... a… a skater. Whatever the hell that was suppose to mean. Draco grabbed the door handle, not even bothering to try to push the button again; Granger wasn't that sloppy. He was going to get her so bad she- Draco stopped , halfway out of his seat. Granger. He swore under his breath. Father had told Notter to say to take Ms. Delavontá anywhere she wanted. Ms. Delavontá. Not Granger. Draco sighed, irritated. She wasn't Granger anymore, he couldn't treat her the same. Not while father was keeping tabs on him. Ms. Delavontá. This was going to take some getting used to. Draco pulled his enormous hood over his head, getting out of the Corvette. He needed a walk. Draco looked around seeing only stores and streets. _And just my luck there's nowhere good to walk. _Draco sighed again. He couldn't go far anyway, he had to keep an eye on Gra- Delavontá. Draco walked up to the building casting furtive glances around. The hood made such a shadow over his face that all that could be seen was his eyes. He leaned against that brick wall near the door as some of the others were doing. Draco was leaning outside of a dirty, filthy Muggle building. If only the Slytherins could see him now. He looked around at the Muggles. There were quite a few his age just hanging out. Some leaned against the wall as he was, others were sitting around the outside tables, chatting and laughing. He saw many of them looking at him curiously; some even angrily. Apparently this was a regular hangout, newcomers not so welcome. He caught a few peoples' eye, giving them and emotionless stare. Most looked away instantly, others tried to hold it, none succeeding. Draco sighed, closing his eyes. It had been such a long day. He felt as though someone had suddenly thrust his life into overdrive. Draco opened his eyes suddenly, swearing slightly. The other people outside had rather migrated around him. Some in the table in front of him, others leaning against the wall. How could he have let them get that close without noticing; he was more worn-out than he thought. Draco watched them warily. The people at the table in front of him were whispering frantically, looking at him frequently. Draco felt the strong urge to roll his eyes. 'Go' he heard one of the girls mumble, shoving a boy off the table. He scowled at them before walking towards him. He stopped, a rather grim smile on his face.

"Hi, I'm Matt," he said holding out his hand. Draco regarded him carefully. The boy was almost as tall as him, fire-truck red hair, and clear blue eyes. He was dressed similar to Draco with a green sweatshirt and the same sort of black baggy pants. He reminded him of Weasley. Draco almost retched at the thought. Draco started back at him, the boy glared back for a moment before looking away uneasily. He shrugged, dropping his hand and backing away slowly, like Draco was a rabid wolf. Draco smirked. Muggles were so easily frightened. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." His hood fell back a bit, making his full face visible. One of the boys, leaning against the wall nearest to him laughed.

"Oh look whose Mr. James Bond now." Draco looked towards him, an eyebrow raised. The boy stared back at him, now shifting uneasily. "Ya know, James Bond, Double O Seven?" He raised his hands, his thumb sticking up and his forefinger out. "Pow, pow?" Draco stared at him still. He laughed again, this time nervously. "Just thought- ya know- whatever." He shrugged looking down. Draco smirked again, then felt someone staring at him. He sharply turned his head looking back. The girl who had been staring, froze, her cheeks flaming at being caught. Draco smirked, it reminded him of some of the girls in his classes when he looked straight at them. Draco winked at her. The girl's cheeks burned an even brighter red. Draco almost chuckled. Girls always thought guys didn't know when they wanted to squeal with excitement. Draco could always tell; it was so obvious she wanted to. Like he said, all it took was a little observation. Draco walked to the table and sat in the empty chair next to her, never breaking eye contact. He leaned closer to her until they were inches part. The girl gulped, her breathing fast and irregular. Draco smirked.

"I don't bite you know. Not much anyway."

* * *

Hermione walked out of the 'Starbucks' going towards the car. She waved to a couple of her friends hanging out outside. Hermione opened the car door and stopped short. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. A bigoted, mean-spirited, just plain evil, full-fledged 6th year pureblood wizard was on the loose in a street full of Muggles. Hermione looked around frantically, realizing she had completely forgotten what he was wearing. Hermione closed the door and went over to her friends, fidgeting anxiously. 

"Hey you guys." The group looked up at her. Various 'Hey 'Mione' and 'It's been ages' could be heard. She took a deep breath, hoping nothing had happened. "Hey have any of you seen someone come around here? White-blond hair, evil grey eyes, really pale vampirish skin. Maybe wearing a sweatshirt."

"Lost your dog Delavontâ? a voice sneered from behind her. Hermione knew that voice, six years of sneering and mocking by that sound could not be forgotten. She feared it would be ingrained in her mind forever. That and he was the only person around that could possibly know her other name. Hermione turned around to face him. There he was, Draco Malfoy in all his evil glory. He did have on a sweatshirt with his hood on, sitting at the table looking dark and mysterious. Girls fawning ceaselessly over him. Oh how it reminded her of Hogwarts. Hermione glared violently at him.

"No- my ferret," she spat venomously. Malfoy stood up, stepping towards her; he smirked, inches from her face. Who would ever think that they, Gryffindor and Slytherin, would find themselves inches apart this many times in the past few days.

"_Your_ ferret, Delavontá" Hermione shoved him away.

"Keep your ridiculous insinuations to yourself Malfoy"

"You're the one who said it." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I got my drink lets go."

"Maybe I'm not ready to leave, Delavontá." Malfoy smirked sitting back at the table. Girls instantly draped themselves over him. _Ugh_. The whole thing reminded Hermione of a picture of those Greek mythology gods with all their women walking around half-naked. She could almost see them fanning him with huge leaves and feeding him grapes. She hoped he choked on one. It was almost enough to make her want to run far, far away.

Hermione looked away. "Fine, I'm going, have fun walking." She started to walk pass him to the car. Malfoy stopped her.

"Don't kid yourself, you'd never walk into my house alone." Hermione laughed.

"I would if I had to. In fact I think I'd feel even better if you weren't there at all. Perhaps thrown of a cliff somewhere, bloody and mangled." Malfoy looked at her suspiciously. She couldn't know that was exactly what he was thinking in the car. She couldn't read minds could she? She wouldn't really do that to him. Would she? Would she! "And besides, I'm your ticket home remember. Daddy wouldn't be happy if _Ms. Delavontá_," she grimaced with disgust, "showed up at Malfoy Manor all alone, unescorted, while their son shows up hours later in- a rather different sort of dress." Malfoy glared at her. She glared back. There certainly had been a lot of glaring lately. Malfoy narrowed his eyes.

"25 minutes." Hermione almost choked on her frappuccino. She looked at him astonished. He raised an eyebrow. Hermione stared at him a second more then said,

"10 minutes."

"20."

"15." Malfoy paused.

"Fine." He sat down at the table.

"Fine," Hermione said, plopping down at the table opposite to him. Hermione glared at him, before turning around and starting up a conversation with her friends.

* * *

Hermione felt eyes boring into her back. She shifted in her seat. _Why wouldn't he stop staring! Stop it. Stop it. Stop it!_ Hermione whirled around. 

"Would you stop staring at me!" Malfoy looked at her an expression of mock surprise on his face.

"Me? Staring? Now Delavontá we've had this discussion before. You're a nice girl and all, but you're just not from me. I'm sorry, but you need to get over it." Hermione scowled at him.

"I would never go out with such a vile, evil, loathsome, bigoted, disgusting furry blond ferret-"

"Ferret? Ahh your beloved pet. The one your friends just _might_ just happen-"

"You wouldn't dare-"

"I thought we'd gone over this-"

"I've had it up to here with you Malfoy-"

"Oh I'm scared-"

"I should come over there and break your skinny little neck-"

"Always resorting to violence, aren't you Delavontá. Those disgraceful Weasleys are rubbing off on you-"

"Don't you ever talk about my friends-"

"Sticking up for your friends that don't even like you?"

"My friends will always-"

"Oh come off it, everyone knows the famous Golden Trio is breaking up. Potty, Weasel, and Mud-"

"Stop right there. You know very well you can't say that here."

"Boohoo. Are you going to cry if I do?"

"Oh please, that stupid name calling is so old. You know we'll get a letter if anyone finds out. It's endangerment."

"Come on Delavontá. Lighten up-"

"Lighten up! You-"

"Malfoy's right Hermione," Charlotte interjected. Charlotte was sitting next to Malfoy pressed up against him. She slid her hand up, it resting near his neck. "You really do need to lighten up."

Charlotte Macy, of all the people. She had to be the one to go Pansy Parkinson clone first. Hermione and Charlotte weren't 'bff', but they talked some. Charlotte was nice, kinda quiet; she never acted like this. _Another poor soul corrupted by Draco Malfoy. I wonder if he's collecting and selling them to the devil._ "I mean," Charlotte continued, "you've been nothing but cruel since you got here. Insulting poor Malfoy when he's done nothing wrong." Charlotte beamed up at Malfoy, before turning back to Hermione a grimace on her face. "Stop acting like you, rule the whole world or something." She rolled her eyes, then looked at Malfoy, giggling flirtatiously. Malfoy gave a suggestive smirked at Charlotte, before looking at Hermione, a pouty look on his face, trying to seem innocent and hurt, like a lost puppy. "Aww, see?" Charlotte crooned. Hermione saw the wicked gleam in Malfoy's eye. She steamed. _How could he- That evil-_

"Charlotte," Hermione ground out. "Keep out of what you don't understand." Charlotte glared at her.

"All I know is-"  
"All you know is nothing." Charlotte stepped up to Hermione.

"Look _'Mione_ I don't know what your problem is, and I don't care. Lose the haughty snotty attitude. You're no better than anyone else. Stop being so evil. Get over you yourself; no one likes you. You're uptight, frigid, and boring." Charlotte smirked, or at least tried to. Her mouth ended up looking deformed, like she had just eaten something her stomach hadn't agreed with. Hermione was appalled. Little ol' Charlotte. How could she say those things. Is that really what everyone thought of her? Malfoy put his arm around Charlotte, smirking at Hermione. Hermione was livid. _Oh the corruption._ She blinked back the tears and opened her mouth to reply, to say anything, to-

"Unlike you, eh Charlotte? We all know you like to have fun all the time, anywhere; dark corners, bathrooms, fire escapes. Just because everyone isn't a slut like you doesn't mean they're no fun." Hermione sighed. She didn't have to say anything. Hermione looked at the owner of the voice. It was Alaska. Thank goodness for Alaska.

"Well at least- at least-" Charlotte sputtered, "At least guys want some from me." Hermione almost laughed. Alaska did. Calling Alaska ugly was like calling a strawberry a banana. It was difficult to mistake one for the other. Alaska Raylean was, well, beautiful. Long dark lashes framed her icy, deep blue eyes. Dark tresses fell down passed her shoulders. A wonderful curvy figure that only few are blessed with. Alaska held that kind of natural beauty that every girl longed for and envied. Alaska sighed.

"Listen sweetheart," she said shoving Charlotte, "You know nothing about Hermione or despicable Malfoy over here. They go to school together; did you know that? In fact how much do you even know about them? How much do you know about their school? What? Nothing? Six years together; I think she knows him _a bit _better than you. So keep your snotty nose out of this before I make you. Oh and one more thing. I. Hate. You. So sit your funky butt down before I make you do that too." Charlotte glared at her defiantly. Alaska raised an eyebrow. Charlotte sat down at the table with a humph. Alaska had never really liked Charlotte. No one knew the reason, but then again Alaska was one of those people who didn't really need a reason to hate you. Alaska smiled mockingly and went to sit next to Hermione. Charlotte mumbled something under her breath. Alaska stiffened.

"Excuse me 'Mione dear," she said in a quaint voice, "Are you finished with this." Alaska motioned to Hermione's frappachino. Hermione shrugged. She had lost her will to drink anything a while ago.

"Yah."

"Good," Alaska said, standing up and going over to Charlotte. "Because Charlotte over here-" Charlotte's eyes widened as Alaska removed the top off the drink, pouring the entire contents down the front of Charlotte's top, it running down her skirt and legs. "-looks a bit thirsty." Alaska finished, a satisfied smirk on her face. Charlotte stood, clumps of icy mocha frapp falling off the bottom of her skirt. She looked down at her herself, horrified.

"You- you-"

"Yes?" hissed Alaska. Charlotte made an odd sound, rather like a child's whimpering crossed with a demonic baboon's howling and ran around the corner. The group watched her leave, not even bothering to hide their hysterical laughter. Draco stood.

"That wasn't very nice Raylean," Draco said looking towards Alaska. Alaska glared at him.

"I don't ever want to hear my name come out of such filth's mouth-"

"Filth! I think not-"

"What's up with this whole Delavontà, Malfoy, Raylean thing? Filth? What are they, like teams with different levels or something?" Matt interjected. Draco stiffened at being interrupted, but answered Matt's question anyway.

"They're names. Each one has a status. Malfoys are higher than them all-"

"Ha," Alaska said. "Puh-lease, everyone know that a Malfoy compared to a Delavontá is scum."

"Maybe a long, long, _long _time ago, but now, after the incident-"

"After the incident? The Delavontás could have a hundred more like it and they would still be higher than a Malfoy. A Malfoy isn't worth the dirt on the bottom of a Delavontás shoe. All Malfoys are is stupid pureblood-" Draco scoffed.

"Pureblood! And what exactly does that make you Raylean!" Alaska glared at him. Draco smirked. "Better a Malfoy than a Raylean. Rayleans couldn't pay to be lower than the dirt on someone's shoe. But Rayleans know a lot about being dirt on the bottom of people's shoes, don't they? Serving others? Everyone knows they even suck at that." Alaska's eyes flashed. She moved to punch Draco in the face. Draco's hand shot out, holding her fist. "But your father knew all about that didn't he?" Draco whispered. Alaska glared at him her face contorted with rage.

"You know nothing about my family."

"Oh really? Everyone knows about the Rayleans. A family torn apart by grief. A grandmother driven mad with shame. An uncle and grandfather; suicide and murder. A father- Well you know all about your father don't you Raylean. With any luck you'll end up just like him." Alaska thrashed, trying to punch Draco with her other hand. Draco grabbed it too, holding her wrists in an iron grasp.

Hermione watched as they struggled. She didn't want to get in the middle of this; she knew better than anybody that Alaska could handle herself and didn't like anybody in her business. Hermione just wished she could hear what they were saying. She winced, watching Alaska struggle. She knew what it felt like to be in Malfoy's grip. If things got much worse she didn't think she'd be able just to stand here and do nothing.

Alaska continued struggling, glaring up at Draco.

"I am nothing like my father," she spat. Draco laughed cruelly.

"Right. Come on Raylean, you didn't actually think your family would even still be alive if you weren't like your father."

"That's not true."

"Stop lying to yourself Raylean."

"Listen Malfoy, my family is nothing like yours. Stay away from us. You and your entire deatheater family." Draco sneered.

"Takes one to know one." Alaska raised her leg to knee him. Draco shoved her away, sending her tumbling to the ground. Hermione twitched, forcing herself to remain where she was. Alaska got up glaring up at Draco. She spat at his feet then turned and walked towards the corner. She paused by Hermione.

"Kill him for me 'Mione." Alaska walked around the corner. Hermione stared at the spot her friend had been standing just a moment before. Had she been crying? In all the time Hermione had known Alaska she had never seen her cry. Not even a whimper. Hermione strode toward Draco, fury in her eyes. Draco had sat back down at the table, looking bored, as if nothing had happened.

"What did you say to her?" Hermione growled. Draco ignored her, his head down. "I said," Hermione yelled, yanking off his hood, "what did you say to her!" Draco lifted his head slowly, staring at her, his gaze emotionless.

"Nothing she didn't already know." Hermione paused , staring into his cool gray eyes. _What?_

"I still don't get this whole Malfoy, Raylean, Delavontá thing," Matt said, breaking the silence. Hermione sighed, irritably. "I mean, I get that your last name is Malfoy, Alaska's last name is Raylean, but Hermione last name is Gra-"

"Hermione's last name is Delavontá." Hermione stiffened, still staring at Malfoy. The hearing of her name coming from his lips felt so unreal, as if it wasn't possible. She looked at him, astonished, wondering if he was as shocked as she was. She saw no emotion on his face, but Hermione knew better than that. She saw his mouth twitch a bit with the foreign sound, a word that he'd never spoken before, but knew how to pronounce so well. She trembled, shivers going down her spine. Matt continued, oblivious to the historic moment that had taken place.

"I thought Hermione's last name was Granger." This shook Hermione out of her daze. She looked at Malfoy.

"Don't." Matt looked at her confused.

"Don't what?" Hermione ignored him, still looking straight at Malfoy. She pleaded with her eyes. _Please. Please. _Malfoy stared back at her, the bored look still on his face. Hermione pleaded with all that was good that Malfoy would at least pretend to have a heart this time. Then, he smirked. Hermione's heart fell, as if Malfoy had weighted it down and dropped it into the ocean to drown.

"Didn't she tell you? Well Delavontá always has been good at keeping secrets. She's adopted. Just found out. Her mother was in prison, but she had a rich family with lots of connections. They got her out. Now she's going to go live with her real mother." Hermione stared at Malfoy, horrified. _How could he do this-_ Tears stung the back of her eyes. Matt looked at Hermione.

"Is that true 'Mione?" Hermione looked down. "'Mione?"

"It's none of your business," she shot at him, looking up. "It's none of anybody's business!" She marched over to the Corvette, refusing to look at anyone; not even caring if Malfoy was behind her. She started it and began pulling out, vaguely aware of the car door opening and shutting. Hermione drove in silence, lost in her own mind. Her sadness and tears were soon replaced by an unpleasant anger_. How could he do that. It was none of his business. He had no right to tell. _Then again, perhaps it was that nagging feeling in the back of her mind, telling her that she was more angry because hearing him say it out loud, saying it in front of everyone, made it all the more real. She was adopted. Her mom had been in Azkaban. Her last name wasn't Granger. Hermione thought she was over the whole 'realization' thing. She thought she was okay with it now, but then again she supposed she would never fully get it, never fully be 'okay'. Hermione looked over to Malfoy for the first time since they left 'Starbucks'. He was looking out the window, his face in its common blank state. All the things she had put up with. Six years, six whole years, she had put up with him. All the chances she had given him. And then, the one time that she really needed him, all he had to do was keep his mouth shut, that's all. Hermione was tired of giving him chances. She had made up her mind, Draco Malfoy was not getting anymore chances. She wouldn't be mean, no, civility only. But she wouldn't go out of her way anymore. No, not anymore.

* * *

Draco Malfoy jumped into the moving car as Delavontá pulled out of the parking space. She must be angrier than he thought. Draco turned to her, opening his mouth to say something. He paused, seeing her face. It was expressionless, blank. Draco shifted uncomfortably. Perhaps he shouldn't have said anything. He looked out the window, trying to swallow down the foreign feeling in his stomach. Draco blinked, trying to get the image out of his mind. The image of her eyes. Granger had always had warm, brown eyes. Like someone that would help anyone, even a stranger. That would stick up for her friends no matter what. That would give to people who didn't deserve second chances, many chances over. But now they were different. It was as if a small part of them had turned to ice, no warmth, no friendliness, just cold, icy. For some odd reason Draco felt that no matter what, that small part of iciness would never go away. He also felt that somehow he had caused that. Draco shifted again still trying to rid himself of that horrible, foreign feeling in his stomach. A feeling he had never felt before. The feeling that made him feel as no Malfoy had felt before. The feeling of making him feel bad about himself. The feeling of guilt.

* * *

**A.N.** This chapter was really long for me, but I extremely enjoyed writing it. However, it being so long, also presented me with a lot of new challenges. For instance, my descriptions (of people, places, anything really) need some work, because half the time writing this chapter was spent trying to write a description. I don't like reading descriptions, writing them, or anything (I'm one of those people who don't like to explain things so writing descriptions are a tad hard for me). Any suggestions on how to improve them and especially anything else in my story would be extremely helpful. Plot suggestions are welcome if you really want to, but I have this story in my head to the last chapter (now all I have to do is write it down) so there's no guarantee it will be used. So, **Suggestions**, **Suggestions**, **Suggestions**, and Review, Review, Review! 

And of course I could never forget about my absolutely precious reviewers (who I hope will continue to review and stick with me):

**Sakura A. Moon:** Hey! I'm happy you got a chance to read my story and I'm glad you like it! Lol, I can try to update sooner, but the chances are very slim. I don't read _Cardcaptor Sakura,_ but I enjoy your story all the same. I'll review as soon as I get this chapter up! Plus, I don't think my grammar is that good :).

**artpixie37:** I finally updated! Thanks for reviewing; I'm glad you liked it.

**sari:** lol, I think _I've_ forgotten my whole story already. And I'm trying to update quicker, I really am!

**someone:** Glad you like my story and especially that you reviewed!

**racheesi:** Hey Rach! I'll say hi to everybody for you! Keep trying to find Tenesha for me. Woohoo Strawberry Kool-Aid! Oh right, my story… Glad you liked it, and thanks for stickin' with me. Hope you finish yours soon.

**Pigwidgeon188:** Lol, I'm naturally hard on myself, but I'm very glad you enjoy my story. I hope my story gets updated soon too :)! I'm not sure about when the 'Hermione and Draco getting along' will happen. I suppose they'll start trying to get along in Chapter 11 or 12; like I said, I have this story planned out to a tee. Thanks so much for reviewing!


	9. Pure Danger

**A.N.** Woohoo! Barely over a month this time! I know, I know, I am good. Anyway I would first like to put a very important

**¡WARNING!**

on this chapter. When I was trying to write this authors note I struggled over a way to give a warning without scaring readers away from the story or really emphasizing it so that people were expecting something big. This chapter doesn't necessarily need a R rating, its very PG-13, but I just wanted to say that I in no way am trying to trivialize the matter of attempted rape. I know other stories that have had this sort of thing in them and once and awhile got angry reviews about them not taking it seriously or realistically. I just wanted to say that I do take it very seriously and that I've had this chapter in my head for since the beginning of the story and I felt the need to write and post it. I'm truly sorry if anyone is offended by this and you must certainly let me know where I went wrong. It wasn't a hugely graphic scene, nor was the entire act committed, so I don't want people getting worried, I just didn't want anyone to have any surprises. So may I finally present to you Chapter Nine- Pure Danger:

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Pure Danger**

* * *

Hermione pulled into the Malfoys' driveway. She turned to Malfoy. _Civility Hermione, civility._ Hermione concentrated on not breaking his neck.

"So I guess this is it." Malfoy looked at her, vaguely surprised, then nodded in response. Hermione got out of the car. "Well lets go." Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "What?" He said nothing. "What!"

"Um…" Malfoy motioned to his clothes. Hermione covered her mouth in horror. Imagine if they both had walked into the Malfoy Manor, _the_ Malfoy Manor, with muggle clothes on!

"Right, right." Hermione hopped back into the car pressing the 'Muggle button' changing their clothes back into robes. Malfoy stepped out of the car.

"Now we can go." Hermione got out and shrunk back down the car, putting it back in her bag. The two walked out of the garage going to the front door; Malfoy knocked. Notter opened the door again, bowing.

"Good evening Master Malfoy, Misses Delavontá. Please follow me." Notter led them into the house.

Hermione took the chance to look around the inside of the Manor. Not in a million years would Hermione ever think that _she_ would be walking around in _the_ Malfoy Manor, _the_ home to _the_ Malfoys.

The Manor wasn't as cold and foreboding as she thought it would be. It held a certain warmth; not necessarily cheerful, but there was a certain charm about it. Everything was lavished, and extravagant, it looked like it came out of a Fabulous Homes Magazine, or perhaps some royal families' summer mansion. There weren't the rows and rows of past Malfoys' paintings, with creepy eyes that followed her, as she thought there would be. She supposed they had to have an entirely different room for them. What surprised her most was, the Malfoy Manor, holding one of the most arrogant pureblood wizards of the age, didn't look extremely wizarding. When Hermione first went to the Weasleys house you could tell straight away that it had magic. But here, it was much more subtle, little things. Their pictures moved some; they were mostly people just standing looking serious, not bothering to acknowledge you. There were some things floating ever so slightly and Hermione didn't see a wizarding clock anywhere.

"Ahem." Hermione blinked, coming back to reality. Notter was standing before a door, his eyes lowered, and Malfoy was holding his arm out with a hint of a grimace on his face. He raised an eyebrow. "Shall we?" Hermione took a deep breath and nodded to him, taking his arm. Hermione started to turn to Malfoy. It was a usual response when she was nervous or scared. But now she had no one. _Malfoy? What kind of support could he give?_ Hermione gulped and took another deep breath as Notter opened the door. It was time.

* * *

They stood. Hermione tried not to look them in the eye. She had this uncomfortable feeing in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't want to look at them, but she was going to have to. _Come on Hermione you're going to have to spend the entire summer with them. _She heard Malfoy speak beside her.

"Hello Father, Mother." Hermione slowly let go of Malfoy's arm.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy," she said softly, curtsying. Mr. Malfoy lifted her hand as she rose and kissed it.

Hermione trembled with contact. His lips against her hand was something she never wanted to experience. It had a feeling of hurt, as thought a snake has bitten her and it's poison was slowly turning her blood to ice. His lips left her hand. Hermione resisted the intense urge to whimper and cradle it.

"It will be a pleasure to have you here, Ms. Delavontá." Hermione shuddered at the way he said her name. She forced herself to remain where she was, but her mind was screaming '_Run!' _All the alarms had gone off in her head. It was common sense. This was dangerous. She was still Hermione Granger, no matter what, they hadn't forgotten that, and she was still in her Number One enemy's house, Malfoy. But she had to look up.

Slowly Hermione raised her head, hoping that she would just be able to glance at them and then look back down.

Her eyes met Narcissa's first. She gasped. She tried to look into her eyes, but they were not there; well physically, yes, but they were blank, emotionless, a well-known trait in a Malfoy, but hers seemed so much more permanent, like a bottomless, soulless pit. It was as if she couldn't see her, couldn't hear her, like she herself wasn't even there. Then again she felt as if she had seen it before. Even as horrifying and shocking as it was Hermione felt as though there was something familiar about it.

It was Malfoy.

She had seen it in his eyes; it wasn't so permanent looking, but there was a small part of it in him, as if it would one day it would come to pass. Hermione hoped that wouldn't happen. She hated him, yes, would never forgive him, but no one deserves that.

Hermione tore her eyes away, preparing to look at Lucius. All she wanted was to glance and look away, but somehow a sickening feeling in her gut told her that might not be able to happen. She couldn't avoid his eyes forever.

Hermione's eyes met Lucius's. And she couldn't even gasp; her breath simply stopped, frozen in fear. It was as if everything had stopped; the outside world, her heart, her mind. All she saw was grey. You could get lost in those eyes, but not in a good way. More of a "_they'll suck you in and you'd never see the light of day again"_. His eyes were icy pits of swirling grey. Contrary to popular belief, Malfoys' eyes are not emotionless. No. Lucius's eyes were full of emotion. Every emotion. They were powerful, frightening, they made you know that no one was safe.

Hermione felt her knees waver; it was as if Lucius was penetrating into her soul, her thoughts. She tried to look away, but she couldn't. It was as if she was bound in chains. Hermione didn't like Lucius eyes; the way they were looking at her. There was something else there besides all that power and horrible glory. It was as if he was looking at a prize.

"We must discuss formalities. Please, sit." Hermione had hardly noticed he had spoken, only that her eyes had been released; she felt her body tensed and weaken. Malfoy quickly swung his arm around hers again; steadying and leading her over to the couch. Hermione could barely keep her eyes open. She highly doubted that all Mr. Malfoy had done was looked at her.

"Your mother," Lucius began, "was supposed to be here today, but somehow got detained. The Ministry," he grimaced, "has her at St. Mangos. She's doing some tests mandatory for all prisoners coming out of Azkaban." Lucius scowled even more deeply. "It should have been done the day she was released, but somehow they didn't have time until now. I tried to explain that you desperately wanted to see your real mother, but they were unreasonable. So I am afraid your meeting will have to be postponed to tomorrow. On another note, the meeting ran longer than expected, and we've already had dinner. We can send one of the elves up with some food if you are still hungry." Hermione shook her head.

"No thank you." She had lost her appetite ages ago. Mr. Malfoy nodded.

"Very well then. Notter shall show you to your rooms-"

"If you please father," Malfoy interjected, "I could show Ms. Delavontá her quarters." Lucius raised his eyebrows.

"That is a fine idea Draco. Very well. Off you go." Malfoy took Hermione's arm.

* * *

Hermione and Malfoy walked down the hallway silently. She wondered why he had offered to walk her to her room. It was probably 'expected'. Hermione bit her lip. She wanted to ask him so badly about- But she couldn't- It was too- But how else would she know- I mean it was kinda scary-

"Malfoy?" Hermione blurted out loudly; her voice vibrated off the walls. Malfoy flinched, looking at her strangely. Hermione blushed a deep red. Malfoy made a face as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Yes?"

"Um," she started, softer this time, "I was just wondering- I mean- I don't mean to be rude- I don't want to offend you or anything-" Malfoy smirked.

"Since when do you care about offending me?" Hermione glared at him.

"It's just- I wanted to know- Don't be-"

"Just spit it out Delavontá!"

"What's wrong with your mother?" Hermione said rapidly, biting her lip. Malfoy stopped walking and stared at her, his face blank. Hermione's eyes widened in horror. "Oh I knew I shouldn't have asked. I'm so sorry Malfoy, I didn't want to be rude. It was an awful thing for me to do. I sh-" Hermione stopped in mid-sentence as Malfoy did the weirdest thing. He laughed. Hermione frowned. "Why are you laughing?" Malfoy opened his mouth to reply and instead burst out laughing. Hermione scowled. "I thought you were upset." Malfoy caught his breath.

"Upset? Why would you think that?"

"W- well," Hermione stammered, "you just stopped and you hadn't said anything and you were just staring at me." Malfoy gave a small laugh and continued walking.

"I was trying to figure out what in the world you were talking about." He smirked. "If you think my mother is bad you should see Nott's." His voice took on a more solemn tone. "I guess its been so long I haven't really noticed. It's a pureblood-wife thing."

"I mean she looked so-" Hermione struggled to find the right word.

"Broken?" Hermione looked at him.

"Yes." He shrugged.

"Like I said, it happens." Malfoy stopped in front of a door. "This is your room. My door is right down the hall. It's the one with the dragon on it." Malfoy smirked. "But you already know that, don't you." He started to turn away.

"But," Hermione started again. Malfoy turned back around.

"When I saw your mother, when I saw her eyes, I thought, well they looked familiar, and, well, they reminded me of yours." Malfoy stared at her, all emotion gone from his face.

"Goodnight Ms. Delavontá." Malfoy turned and walked away.

* * *

Hermione looked around the room that was going to be her home for the next couple of months. It was just as extravagant as the rest of the house, tons of gold and silver, it didn't put her into awe as it usually would have done, she was too exhausted to take anything in. Hermione made her way around the room, getting ready for bed. Finally she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and headed to the bathroom once more. Hermione stopped short. The door was gone. She walked warily to the wall, tapping on it lightly. Nothing happened. She pounded on it. Nothing. Now a lot of other people might have just given up and just gave up and gone to bed. But Hermione had grown up with two dentists as parents, and not brushing her teeth was not an option. She would just have to go to Malfoy's room. No big deal. Right?

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door to Malfoy's room. Malfoy appeared at the door his blond hair dripping wet and nothing but a towel around his waist. Hermione's eyes widened and she blushed a deep scarlet.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize-" she stammered._ Look away Hermione. Look away_. Malfoy smirked. "I'll just; I'll just come back later." She turned to leave. Malfoy rolled his eyes, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Come on in Delavontá." He led her into the room, motioning her to sit on the bed. "I'll be right back." He disappeared into the bathroom, reappearing a few minutes later in pajama bottoms. He sat down on the bed next to her. "What happened?"

"Well," Hermione started, "the bathroom." Malfoy nodded.

"The bathroom."

"The bathroom."

"What about the bathroom?" Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"I was going to brush my teeth and the bathroom, um, well… it disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes."

"It's just the house elves Delavontá. They probably came to clean the bathroom and they made the door disappear while they were in there. It'll be back in a few."

"Oh." Hermione felt incredibly foolish. "Of course. Well I just go back and wait."

"No," Malfoy said. "Just brush your teeth here." Hermione looked at him surprised.

"No, no, I'll just-" Malfoy sighed.

"Just brush them here Delavontá."

"Well," Hermione bit her lip, "Okay then." She went into the bathroom.

Draco rolled his eyes, watching her go. He laid back down on his bed, thinking about before, what she had said about his mother. Draco hadn't really noticed his mother recently, he supposed he had just gotten used to it. It did look worse though now that he thought about it. Things around here had been worse. Draco glanced over at the bathroom door that Delavontá was so innocently bushing her teeth in. Had she thought about pure-blood life at all? Draco realized that she would become exactly like his mother, and probably worse. He had heard that his mother had spirit before, but at least she knew what was going to happen. Delavontá had more spirit than she could handle and she wouldn't even see it coming. Draco sighed, wondering what would happen to her. He though about what she had said before he left; about his eyes. Draco laughed softly. He hadn't noticed but he supposed it was true; did he have too much spirit? Did he need to be 'broken'? Draco's mind drifted to earlier that day on the train. Delavontá would need protecting tonight, so much so he just might have done it without the Weasley's warning… The only problem was getting her to agree. Draco got up and stretched as he heard the water taps going off. He went to lean against his door. Hermione came out of the bathroom and walked over the door and Malfoy.

"Well I'm going back to bed now." Draco sighed.

"No." Hermione looked at him strangely.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't stutter Delavontá." Hermione glared at him. She tried to grasp the door handle. Draco moved in front of it.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Delavontá." Hermione scowled at him.

"And just why not!"

"A little weaselette told me not to," he mumbled. Hermione looked at him, confused.

"What does Ginny have to do with this?" Draco sighed and looked at her right in the eyes. It reminded Hermione of when they had been in the closet that night.

"Listen Delavontá, if you value your naive, ignorant, pitiful life, your… innocence," Draco smirked sliding his eyes over her body the way that made her feel so uncomfortable, "then you'd better stay here tonight." Hermione stared at him. He had that same look in his eye as when he told her not to move that night. It wasn't a look she saw often with him or even at all. A look of sincerity? No, not possible. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"How can I trust you?"

"The Weasley trusted me."

"_She_ trusted _you_." Hermione regarded him closely.

"But how can I trust you?" Draco sighed again.

"How can you not Delavontá." Hermione saw that look in his eyes and the underlying tone in his voice, but sincerity can be faked and even if it is real, it can still go horribly wrong. But she could handle herself. Right?

Just then there was a knock on the door. Draco opened it revealing Lucius. He looked at Hermione, clearly surprised.

"Ms. Delavontá?" Draco cleared his throat.

"Ms. Delavontá will be," Draco looked at Hermione, "accompanying me tonight." Lucius raised his eyebrows, looking at Hermione.

"Is that so Ms. Delavontá?"

"Yes," Hermione said in causal voice without any hesitation. She didn't know why, perhaps it was the way he was looking at her, perhaps she hadn't wanted to get Malfoy in trouble… perhaps it was the ways the air changed when he was there or perhaps it was that awful feeling of sickening fear in her stomach that made her want to dive underneath her covers and never, ever, come out again. Yes Lucius Malfoy was a man to be afraid of; a dangerous man.

Lucius regarded them a moment more then said, "Very well then, if you're sure." Hermione nodded again.

"In any case, goodnight," and he walked out of the room, his robes billowing softly behind him. The two held their breaths for a moment until they were sure he was gone. Draco turned to Hermione, his eyebrows raised. She sighed.

"Fine." Hermione looked around. "But where shall I sleep?" Draco got into bed and smirked, patting the spot next to him. She glared at him, taking out her wand. "I think I'll just transfigure one." Draco laughed.

"Have you forgotten where you are? You can't use magic here, no one can; it's for protection. Malfoys have many enemies, known and unknown." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Right." She waved her wand. Nothing happened. Draco started laughing.

"Told you." Hermione glared at him again.

"Can _you_ do magic, after all you are their son." He snorted.

"A lot of difference that makes. I can do small stuff, really small."

"Like transfigure a bed?" Draco smirked, shaking his head.

"So it'll be the floor then?"

"Unless you'll act like a real gentlemen for once and let me use the bed." This time Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Right," he said sarcastically, getting up and going over to his enormous closet. He got out some sheets, dumped them on the floor, and then threw some pillows on the pile. "Have fun." Hermione glowered at him, wondering once again why the hell she was doing this, and got down on her knees straightening out the mess of sheets and pillows. Draco leaned over the bed watching her. "Aww, on your knees for me again." Hermione scowled at him, finishing straightening out the sheets. Draco smiled mockingly and rolled back from the edge of the bed. Hermione scowled up once more before climbing into the covers.

"Delavontá?" Draco called.

"Yeah?" Hermione said from her position on the floor.

"Do me a favor and don't go anywhere. If you need something wake me up." Hermione frowned.

"Why?" Draco rolled over to the edge of the bed quickly.

"Just do it Delavontá." Hermione nodded reluctantly. Draco looked at her for a moment then nodded. "Good," he said, rolling back. Draco smirked, looking up at the ceiling. "Oh and I really liked your other pajamas better." Hermione opened her mouth in protest as Draco turned out the lights.

* * *

Hermione woke up with one thought in her mind. _Malfoy's floor is very hard._ Hermione groaned sitting up. It had taken her forever to fall asleep, and all that work had made her thirsty. Hermione groaned again, standing up and going over to the door. She could vaguely remember Malfoy telling her where the kitchens were… down the stairs and to the left, she thought, or maybe she would see a house elf- Hermione stopped, her hand about to turn the door knob. There was something poking at the back of her mind. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Malfoy sleeping in his bed. His nice, warm, fluffy, soft- Malfoy. She was supposed to wake him. Grumbling, she went over to the bed. Her hands stopped mid-air as she was going to shake him. She had never seen Malfoy asleep. Hermione's eyes adjusted to the darkness.

People always say that even the most evil person could look angelic when they were asleep. Well 'people' were right. There were no traces of a smirk or scowl on his face, his icy indifferent demeanor had faded away; he looked almost innocent. His hair held no traces of gel and was tousled and messy, very un-Malfoylike. Part of it had fallen over his face. Hermione reached out through instinct and brushed it away. Malfoy's nose twitched and he gave a tiny sneeze. Hermione stifled her giggles with her hand. _Aww_. She wished desperately to have a camera; she wanted to capture this image forever. Hermione sighed softly. She could wake him, but it would be like tearing an art canvas down the middle or adding wrong notes to a musical masterpiece. She'd ruin it. Hermione turned and crept out the door. She could handle herself. All she'd do was get a quick drink and go back to bed. Malfoy would never even notice. Right?

* * *

Hermione walked down the Malfoy Manor halls; all the things that seemed so innocent in the day made her jump with anxiousness now. The entire house seemed more sinister. Hermione was tensed, ready to spring, as if she was a deer on alert with a wolf tracking her. Though Hermione doubted she'd be able to lightly bound away. More than once she whirled around, swearing each time she had heard the swish of a cloak, the clicking of a shoe… the growl of a wolf. Hermione sighed, reaching the kitchen door. _Just get the water and leave._ Suddenly Malfoy's room didn't seem that unsafe now.

The glasses were easy enough to find. Hermione filled one up with some water as quietly as possible, but even the slow trickle of water seemed like a rushing waterfall in the eerie quietness of the house. She took a long gulp of the water... and another, and another, and another... Hermione set down the glass, satisfied.

"Ms. Delavontá," a cold voice spoke from behind her. Hermione froze.

"Mr. Malfoy."

"Please, call me Lucius." Hermione remained frozen, her back turned from him.

"Lucius then."

"You're up rather late." The voice seemed closer. Hermione slowly turned around. Lucius was standing a few feet from to the kitchen door, the only door.

"I'm sorry, I was just thirsty." Lucius nodded.

"Of course, I'm glad you found the kitchen alright." Hermione nodded.

"Yes. Well I am really very tired. I'll just be going now." Hermione had to get out of the kitchen. All of her alerts were screaming at her to move, to go.

"No, stay awhile and... talk. Hermione glanced franticly at the doorway behind him and back at Lucius, into his eyes.

It was not question.

Trembling, she sat down on one of the stools around the counter. Lucius strode over, placing his stool directly in front of her. She could hardly see the doorway over him. There was no way she would make it. Lucius began talking.

"You being in the pureblood life is going to be very different from your old life. There are many things you will have to learn, and do." His voice reminded her of the cold drop of water running down the side of her glass. Hermione nodded, shivering. "As a pureblood, or being in a very high standing pureblood family, there will be many privileges given to you, and at times, certain ways you must act." He paused, looking at her. "There will be things you like and don't like," he placed a hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort her. His touch felt just as cruel as before, with a pain and coldness going through her arm. Hermione stood abruptly at this. She had to leave. She began to go around him as fast as possible, but before she was hardly past him a cane came around to her stomach, firmly stopping her. "And just where do you think you are going." His voice sounded harsher and guttural, but still the voice of a sinful serpent. Hermione gulped.

"I am sorry Mr. Malfoy, but I really must be going back to bed-"

"No," he pressed against the cane until, Hermione was forced back and into her seat. She trembled, avoiding his eyes. "We must continue talking." He smiled that fake, sly smile; the smile of a fox on a rabbit, a lion on a gazelle… a wolf on a deer. "Now where was I? Oh yes, now Hermione," Him saying her first name was foreign too, but it was more brutal, vicious. It was as if it had been put into a blender and chopped up, like a thousand vultures were tearing it to pieces. It sounded as a cobra, its tail rattling, a wolf licking his lips. "There will be things you'll like and may not like," again his hand moved to her shoulder, this time going up and down her arm lightly, "but you have to do them," now both of his hands were running up and down her arms. "because it pleases," he leaned in, inches ways from her face, "people," he whispered. "Now Ms. Delavontá," his hands moved upwards toward her collarbone. He stopped. "Look at me Ms. Delavontá," he said calmly. Hermione continued avoiding his eyes. "I said look at me," he hissed.

It was an order.

Hermione looked up into his eyes. Powerful and deadly. Lucius smirked, and in that moment Hermione knew Lucius Malfoy was an evil man, there was no more time for niceties, pretending everything was okay, she had to go, she had to get out, now, or else it was too late. Hermione sprung up, darting past him. She made it to the doorway, running as fast as she could, she didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get out. Cold grief engulfed her as two strong arms grabbed her from behind. This time Lucius had her by the shoulders, roughly pulling her. Hermione tried to struggle as he shoved her back towards the stool. She flailed, hitting her head and tumbling to the floor. Lucius loomed over her, sneering.

"I said, you are staying." He grabbed her by the shoulders once more and swung her around, pushing her up against the wall. Hermione kicked and pushed blindly. "Stop," Lucius growled. Hermione continued swinging. Lucius shoved her against the wall again. Her head hit the wall with stunning force as she drifted a bit from consciousness.

Everything seemed to be swirling. Sounds, colors, words. All she felt was her throbbing head banging against the wall. Memories and thoughts, dreams mussed with the present. She couldn't tell which way was up. She was back in the empty Great Hall with Malfoy; he was pushing her against the wall, but this time he wouldn't stop.

"Stop it," she called. Her head was throbbing painfully. "Malfoy stop it, please Malfoy you're hurting me." The banging stopped. The stars and dizziness faded away as Hermione focused back, hearing Lucius's cruel laughter.

"Malfoy? Ah, my son. I see he is still behaving as a proper Malfoy should." Lucius sneered. "Are you ready to talk now? Hmmm?" His hand moved from her shoulder up to her neck. He threaded his hands though her hair roughly, holding the back of her head. Hermione glared at him.

"Leave me alone Mr. Malfoy," she whispered. Lucius cocked his head slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said," Hermione took a deep breath, "Leave me alone," she yelled. Hermione was not going to just let this happen. No. "Help! Mr. Malfoy go away! Help! Let me go Lucius!" Hermione expected him to shove her down again or try to cover her mouth. But he just stood there, smirking and laughing.

"Go ahead and yell Ms. Delavontá. Yell for 'help'. I'll even help you. 'Help! Help!'" he mimicked in a high pitched girlish voice. He stopped, sneering once more. "But you're just wasting your breath. Who exactly are you calling for help from? My wife?" He cracked a vicious smile. "The elves? I don't think you understand Ms. Delavontá. I rule this house. I hold all in the palm of my hand. There is no one to 'help' you." Hermione abruptly stopped her yelling. He was right. There was no one to help her. The elves couldn't help her even if they wanted to. Narcissa probably hadn't even heard her yells. There was no one. But Lucius had forgotten one person. Malfoy. _But would he even bother to get out of bed?_ A tear rolled down her face. Lucius smiled with sadistic joy at this.

"I see you've come to your senses." His hand moved from her hair and traced her neck to her shoulder to her collarbone. Hermione's mind reeled. _No_. Hermione thought back to the room, just before she left. Maybe a month ago Malfoy wouldn't have helped her, maybe he wouldn't have cared then, but that face, that perfect sleeping form in that bed would help her. He had to. Hermione took a deep breath, knocking Lucius's hand away. She glared at him before closing her eyes and yelling as loud as she could for her only hope.

* * *

Draco sat up abruptly in bed. Something was wrong; he heard something. Draco closed his eyes, concentrating. There was the steady tick of the clock in his room, the normal cascade of the fountain, the usual little patter of the house elves feet, and then there was... something else.

Draco's eyes shot open with alarm. There was talking. Draco scrambled over to the edge of his bed and looked down. All he saw was a tangle of sheets and pillows. He swore, jumping out of his bed and racing to the door. Draco ran down the hallway as the talking became yelling.

Thoughts whirred through his head as he neared the kitchen door. What was going to happen to her? What if he was too late? Why hadn't he kept a closer eye on her? What would happen if he didn't make it on time? Why did she have to leave, why! Draco burst through the kitchen door just as he heard his name being yelled with fierce hopelessness. Both Lucius and Hermione looked up towards the door. Hermione's eyes met Malfoy's and a mixture of emotions filled her. Relief, exhaustion, amazement, uncertainty. Lucius straightened as Draco made his way over toward them. Hermione slumped against the wall trying to grasp everything as the adrenaline slowly leaked out of her body. Draco raised an eyebrow, approaching them.

"Ms. Delavontá?"

"What are you doing down here Draco?" Lucius snapped, practically glowering at his son.

"I was thirsty," Draco said nonchalantly. "I was simply getting a drink." Lucius frowned.

"You actually got out of bed and walked down here for it? Why didn't you send on of the elves?" Draco shrugged, getting out a glass and filling it up.

"I needed a walk. Plus I didn't see Ms. Delavontá so I was wondering if she was also down here." Draco finished his glass in one gulp. "Much better." He smiled. "We didn't want her getting lost now did we?" He leaned over the counter, peering at the slumped over Hermione. "Ms. Delavontá you look exhausted. Come, let's go back to bed." Draco went around the counter, ever so lightly brushing Lucius. Lucius stiffened. Draco reached down, helping Hermione up. She leaned against him, hoping that they'd get out. Lucius stepped in front of them. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem father?" They stared at each other hidden rage boiling behind their eyes. Hermione looked from Lucius to Malfoy, wondering what the verdict would be. Lucius nodded stiffly.

"No. Of course not. Goodnight." He swept out of the kitchen, his robes billowing behind him as before. Hermione turned to Malfoy who was still glaring at the swinging kitchen door. She opened her mouth to say something to him. Malfoy turned to her and Hermione shut her mouth quickly. His eyes were still full of rage as he looked at her, Hermione started to shrink back but he yanked her forward, dragging her through the door. Hermione tried not to think as they made the long trek down the hall. But she had to think, it was in her genes, to go back, to remember.

Hermione's mind wandered back to the kitchen. Flashes of scenes shot through her mind like stray bullets. Whimpers, screams, a cruel cold laughter. Long blond hair and swirling grey eyes clouded her vision. She shook violently, whispering, mumbling… remembering. Malfoy took no notice, lost in his own whirling mass of flashes and continued to drag her down the hallway.

Her mind wandered, floating; her consciousness of him and everything else drifting. Hot deadly hands, the cool stonewall behind her back, erratic, ragged breathing in her ear. Her reality and dreams mixed, the lines between past and present blurring. Tiny teardrops ran across her face in sporadic moments. Long blond hair, cold grey eyes, cruel laughter, pain. _No._

* * *

Draco was only vaguely aware of Granger traveling slightly behind him as he led her back to the room. His worry had long been replaced with relief and that by anger. He was simmering. Draco couldn't remember being this upset too often. Why didn't she wake him up? Why did she have to leave? Why- Draco threw open the bedroom door. He went over to where she was _suppose_ to be sleeping and finally let go of her. Draco started pacing, furious.

"What the hell Granger, are you trying to get yourself hurt! Is something wrong with your head because I distinctly remember telling you not to move! I mean really, its not that hard. _Malfoy darling, I would like a drink of water._ See! Piece. of. Pie. How in the world am I suppose to-" Draco stopped short. He had almost said 'How am I suppose to protect you'. Draco growled and shook his head.

"Granger-" He started again. Draco looked down at her. She was shaking, slowly rocking back and forth on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest. Past tears stained the side of her cheeks as new ones formed. Her eyes were dim, only barely aware of her surroundings. Her lips were taut as her face contorted slightly at invisible pain. "Granger," he repeated, his voice softened. Draco sighed and shook his head, his anger disappearing. "Hermione," he whispered. She had really given him a scare, two more seconds and… Draco shook his head again. He didn't want to think about it. "Goodnight Granger," he said quietly, climbing into bed and turning off the lights.

* * *

Hermione's eyes shot open, her whole body shivering from a dream she couldn't remember. She curled up underneath the covers on the floor, her breathing steadying. She closed her eyes then quickly opened them once more, not wanting to remember again. Her tears had long since stopped and the tension in her body was slowly released. The pain, the horror of it all was still present, but ever so slowly another emotion was snaking itself around the others like a stealthily climbing vine. Elation. Joy. She was here, she wasn't with him. She was safe. He had barely touched her. She was still… whole.

The corners of her mouth began to rise slightly unknowingly. But then she stopped, her mouth dropping open in a silent scream. She saw a flash of long blond hair in the corner. The moonlight moved, as Hermione slowly began to breath. It was just the silver lining by Malfoy's closet. Hermione let out a slow breath, pulling the covers on the floor tighter around her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw glimpses of him, flashes. But then when she turned they were gone. Hermione's heartbeat quickened and her breaths turned shallow as a gut wrenching thought occurred to her. What would stop him from coming back, just sneaking into the room and dragging her out?

Hermione felt so alone and open on the floor. Her movements became fierce but clumsy as she scooted back, hitting the wall with a painful thump. Hermione leaned her head against the wall, forcing herself to close her eyes and breath. She waited as her heartbeat and breathing returned to normal as she forced the horrible images and illusions out of her mind. _Don't be silly Hermione, he's not here._ But for how long? Even with her back pressed against the warm wall she still felt as exposed as a deer in an open meadow.

She glanced up at Malfoy's bed above her, seemingly so inviting. Yet a sleeping dragon lay in it, yet he was still her savior. With all thoughts and rationalization fleeing from her mind Hermione stood, her back still hugging the wall as though at any moment she would have to fly up onto it. She looked down at Malfoy's sleeping form. He was still on the far side of the bed, nearest to the door, but he was faced towards her. His body was motionless except for the tiniest rise and fall of his chest. Fear, panic, and temptation overtook Hermione as she watched him.

Slowly she lifted the edge of the blankets and inched her way beneath them, next to him. The bed was king sized which left plenty of space between them, but even so Hermione felt her breath quicken slightly and her heart race faster. _What the hell am I doing! Why am I in here?_ Hermione glanced down at the floor where she had been just a few seconds ago. Oh no. Up here, no matter how crazy, was still better than that dark expanse of uncharted territory down there.

Hermione sighed trying to wiggle around and get comfortable without disturbing the sheets. She had a feeling that no matter how tired Malfoy was he would wake up if he felt the slightest thing moving around beside him. Hermione relaxed letting the warmth and softness of the bed engulf her once more. Her eyelids drooped a bit as her arm fell off the bed. Hermione's eyes shot fully open, yanking her arm up and back into the bed. She rubbed it gently; it had felt so cold so open down there, all alone. Hermione gulped looking at the dark void below her. She glanced around the room, images and illusions threatening to appear yet again. She still felt so exposed.

Hermione turned her head finally looking at the sleeping form on the other side of the bed. Malfoy once more looked as he did before, innocent and angelic. Even from so far away Hermione could feel his radiating body heat. She unwilling felt the need for that warmth, the security that she had missed. With her mind reeling and screaming Hermione inched forward towards Malfoy. She hadn't thought she'd gone far, but apparently she had misjudged the space between them, because suddenly Malfoy was far to close for comfort. Hermione's mind was breathless with relief that he hadn't woken as it screamed, 'See! See what happened now! I told you, I told you, I told-" Hermione told her mind to shut up. She looked Malfoy over again and realized this was probably the closest she had gotten to him. Gratitude washed over her another time. _Thank you, thank you, thank you._

Hermione's mind wandered as she tried to think a little about what was going on. The safety was there, but how long would that feeling last. Hermione tried to make herself smaller as once again the pictures of her mind, the illusions started trying to make a weak comeback. She shivered, hoping with all that she had that the cold, open, alone feeling wouldn't come back. What would she do then?

"You're trembling." Hermione almost jumped out of her skin at the soft voice beside her. Her eyes focused back on Malfoy as he opened his eyes. Her mind, which was somewhere else had failed to realize that though Malfoy had still looked so innocent the vulnerability wasn't there as much. Hermione was expecting a smirk or a scowl at her jumping and something even more at her being in his bed- with him in it. But to her utmost surprise there was nothing.

Draco saw the confusion in her eyes at his lack of reaction. He couldn't just go to sleep after that, he had simply closed his eyes, thinking, not moving, a rather halfway between awake and sleep. He had heard her move around and get up, but it was certainly a surprise when she had actually gotten into the bed. She must have been more frightened now that she was fully aware of everything.

"I thought you were asleep!" Draco shrugged.

"No." Hermione scowled at him.

"How long were you awake? Surely you heard me moving around." Hermione stared at him in disbelief. _Oh my gosh I must have looked like such and idiot. _"You could have said something. Do you enjoy scaring me out of my mind! Why didn't you say anything?" Hermione glared at him, trying to ignore the closeness of his face, the intensity of his eyes.

"Why are you in my bed?" Hermione's face crumpled at this question and she averted her eyes quickly.

She began mumbling incoherently as her cheeks turned a pink rosy color. Unexpectedly Draco took her chin in one of his hands, making her meet his eyes.

"Why are you in my bed?" Hermione gazed into his eyes, wondering why he was acting this way.

"Because I- I was scared," she whispered. Draco nodded. Hermione fought off the tears wanting to come. "I- I don't want him to come back. I just felt so open down there and-" Draco brought his finger to his own lips and Hermione stopped speaking.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered. He let go of her chin slowly and her head came to rest near his neck right beneath his chin. "Even if he comes he won't get you again. He won't."

* * *

Hermione awoke to a slight pulling on her hair. Groaning softly she tried to draw away, but a hand kept her in place. The tugs came again, more persistently. Hermione frowned, her eyes still closed, as she shook her head slightly. One more sharp tug came and Hermione's eyes flew open. Her mouth opened in angry protest as she looked up at Malfoy, but one look in his eyes caused her expression to soften. His face was serious and solemn as he mouthed one word.

_Listen_.

Hermione concentrated on the sounds around her, hearing nothing out of the ordinary, unless you count the eerie silence of the entire house. But in some way her hearing had gotten sharper the past few days, as a reflex mechanism, because she was always on alert. Slowly her ears adjusted, listening, as the faint yet distinct sound of a clicking could be heard.

Hermione heart rate accelerated as she gripped the sheets in pure fear. Her eyes flew wildly around the room looking for a way out, something to let her escape. As her eyes darted about, they eventually fell onto Malfoy's stormy grey ones, which were watching her calmly. Hermione took deep breaths her eyes locked on his. '_Even if he comes he won't get you again. He won't.'_

Hermione's fear and panic flew away as she watched his eyes, his unsettling grey eyes, as she gazed at the beautiful storm being born in them. She felt a calm buzz in her mind that was faintly familiar.

_Delavontá?_ Hermione recognized the feeling and put her own hand on the tattoo.

_Malfoy, I'm- I'm scared._

_I know Delavontá-_

_What are we going to do! He's coming back! He's almost here. He's just going to come in and-_

_Stop it Delavontá._ Hermione forced her over-pouring thoughts to stop and instead resumed just looking into his eyes.

_Just put you head back where it was and close your eyes. Just pretend you're asleep. _Hermione looked at him mildly horrified.

_But-_

_Now Delavontá. Before it's to late._ Hermione lowered her head and closed her eyes, thinking only one more thing before severing connection.

_Don't leave me, please._

_I won't._

A second after they both closed their eyes, 'sleeping', a muted _click_ sounded; the opening of the door. Hermione's face remained calm and neutral, asleep in a world of pure innocence, but inside her heart was racing and her mind was panting with exhaustion of trying to keep her breathing steady. Hermione wished desperately that she had not lost connection with Malfoy. She felt so open again, so alone. The dark form crept farther into the room, but never straying more than a few feet from the door. Hermione felt it peering at her, at them, and she shivered involuntarily. Malfoy, in the perfect acting of a genuine sleepy moment, turned slightly, putting his arm over her and resting on the small of her back, pulling her even closer to him. Hermione gave a perfect sleepy sigh of contentment and snuggled as close as she could to him. All rational thoughts of who he was, who she was, what they were, flew out of her head along with the fear and panic of the moment. She was safe, in his arms, it didn't matter who they belonged to, only that they were hers.

* * *

They stayed like that as Lucius watched them, however they were only faintly aware of his presence for they were in their own world of divine existence. Lucius wasn't a stupid man, he knew they were awake, and they knew that he knew they were awake. But the thing you must realize that with all Malfoys, and with most people who are around them, its all about appearances. There used to be a day where if you hated someone you said so, you despised them openly, but now with the evolution of man and society there is a different way, a new way. Everything is war, quiet, silent, deadly war. You know not of your enemies nor of your friends. It was all about image, whispers, everything was behind closed doors. You had to invite your despised enemy to your yearly party because of it, image. You both hated each other, you knew it, they knew, everybody knew it, yet you had to be polite. Talk in subtle riddles and mazes of insinuations without you plain insulting them. It was the rules. The rules of the Malfoys, the rules of society, their society.

Lucius gave one last glare before sweeping out of the room, the door closing with another muted click. But that click was enough, enough to make Draco and Hermione come back to their senses, come out of their place, whatever it was. Slowly they untangled from each other, sadness engulfing them as they avoided one another's eyes. Sadness on what was lost, and not knowing if they would ever get it back.

* * *

Hermione didn't know what had happened. All she knew is she wished it hadn't ended. She missed it, the safety, the warmth, the feeling that- the feeling that it was all hers.

* * *

Draco retreated in his own mind trying to ignore yet another feeling that was creeping over him. Ever since this entire thing with her had started he had been going through a hurricane of emotions, feeling more feelings than he thought he had. Sincerity, guilt, worry, and- and…what now? Draco enjoyed this new feeling, but at the same time he wanted to push it as far away as he could. It was a dangerous, dangerous feeling. Just having her in his arms produced more feelings than he knew how to name. The warmth of her. The feeling that she was all his. Just being with her in all her beauty- Draco stopped. Had he called her beautiful? He shut his eyes even tighter. No this new feeling wasn't good. No, it was pure danger.

* * *

**A.N.** Did you like it? I'm really really sorry that the first section of the story sucked so bad. And also I have no clue what got into me with that whole 'society' thing; sorry if you didn't understand it, I didn't plan on writing anything like that, I just kind of kept typing and typing (this was suppose to be a short chapter). Another thing that got away from me is all the romantic crap, rather sappy spots, I just could help it, like I said, I kept on typing and typing and typing… yeah.

Thankx to all my faithful and new reviewers! I love you all!

**BeautifulMisconception-** Thank you so much for your review! I'm so happy you liked it, I try not to cliché my story too much but sometimes it happens. ;-)

**Nytel-** I'm love that you like it! It's good to know when people look forward to the next chapter! Thankx for reviewing!

**manda490-** I updated in about a month! I think that's a record for me! I hope your happy. lol. I'm thrilled that you like liked it!

**AngelicDreams-** Everyone should be in love with Draco! lol. I do try to keep the twists and turns coming. (hint: there should be a huge one around chapter 11 or 12) Yep, I just turned 14 a few months ago (well, December, still feel 13 though), I'm hoping that I can improve upon my writing at Fnet. Thanky thanky ever so much for reviewing!

**Anamika-** So happy you enjoyed it! Hoped you like this chapter as well!

**XOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo- **lol. It was my longest chapter yet, absolute torture writing it too! Thanks very much for reviewing!

**ElspethBates-** I'm delighted that you enjoyed it. I plan to take this story far, seeing as how I'm trying to write and **finish** a full-length story. You'll meet Hermione's birth mother next chapter, though Hermione might not meet her 'til the 11th chapter or so. She'll be a bit insane, but she always has been lol. She'll definitely criticize Hermione and automatically start trying to treat her as any pureblood parent would treat their child (which of course is very new to Hermione) It's rather hard to explain, I don't want to give anything away, but I suppose you'll see a little while after Hermione meets her, it will all make sense then! I'm so happy for your review and I really hope you continue to do so!

**Racheesi-** Hey Rachy (lol). I updated in about a month! Yay for me! 6'3 eh? Is he taller than you yet? I miss you too! Thankx for reviewing! (we have so gotta talk more)

P.S. The whole Draco calling Hermione "Granger" instead of "Delavontá" wasn't a mistake, he's always truly thought of her as Granger still, subconsciously-- though when he thinks he still calls her Delavontá _scratches head _okaaay really really subconsciously.

**MORE REVIEWS!**

_heeheehee-_ I love you forever!

(I had too much sugar)


	10. Viper Thoughts

**A.N.-** _mob of angry reviewers advances_ IF YOU KILL ME YOU WILL HAVE NO MORE CHAPTERS! _mob slinks away into the shadows muttering threats of tar, removing fingers, and banning me from all other life except for writing_.

So here's the short version. I had extreme writing block due to rising stress levels (which are getting still higher). This chapter was not needed, like a filler chapter, but it really has no important value. I guess it was going to be a getting-to- know-you (a character) chapter, but that didn't really work out. Anyway it kinda sucks and I don't think it even measures up to half of the last chapter but this is what you got for now. _hangs my head shamefully_ I'm sorry. Its choppy, unorganized, and rather confusing at points. (Not to mention pointless, and so not worth waiting all summer) Next chappie will be better! It has too! I hope ya'll will get the gist of this one though. Enjoy!

_IMPORTANT NOTE:_ After I posted this chappie I got slight grief over the fact that the different POVs (sections in bold) weren't labeled and was kind of confusing. I just wanted to let you know I did that on purpose. Keeps you guessing ;-) Yes, it's kind of confusing, but you should get most of them, except maybe one or so, and that was on purpose too... now you may enjoy...

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Viper Thoughts

* * *

**

**Legs. It was definitely the legs. Long and luscious, seducing; just like the rest of her.**

**Her daughter is the same, I can tell. You wouldn't know under all those bulky robes, but they're still there. Her mother wouldn't stand for that though, soon I'd have two pairs of those walking around. It's all too much for me to imagine.**

**I tried having a little fun last night, but, alas, she escaped me. And people don't usually escape from Lucius Malfoy. But this time, they did. _Thwarted by my own son._ But it was a small loss; just a little missed playtime, but it was the second thing that- not worried me, simply _intrigued_ me.**

_**Thwarted by my own son.**_

**He's drifting. I have allowed him too much leeway for too long. And I have a feeling that the Mudblood has a very big part in whatever is going on. But no worries.**

**Her mother will handle her.**

* * *

Peter Quinn was a rather nervous, scared, sort of man. Not exactly mousy, but more of a squirrelish type- _and right now he was more nervous and scared than he had ever been in his entire life. But then again_- he fidgeted shuffling his papers while stealing a quick glance up- _who wouldn't be?_

Peter winced as he felt the paper slide lightly into the side of his finger. _Oh how he hated papercuts._ He laughed nervously.

"Well I- I- I'm just going to g- get a B- Band-Aid," he stammered. He stood shakily and went over to his cabinet, taking a bright pink Band-Aid out of the neon-colored assortment. He glanced down at his hand, which in fact was almost covered in Band-Aids, making it look like a rather freakish, brightly multicolored octopus… with 3 arms missing.

He had gotten a lot of papercuts since _she_ had arrived.

_She must have thought him an idiot, using Muggle Band-Aids._ Peter inspected his hand closely trying to find a way to place it over the cut. _Usually he could just heal it with a wave of a wand, it was a fairly simple spell_- Peter placed the Band-Aid strategically on his hand- _but in this state he feared that he might blow his finger into smithereens. _Peter stalled a few more seconds, rummaging through the cabinet, before going and sitting back at his desk.

_He was once again in the realm of silent torture. And that's what it was, torturous silence, she had hardly uttered a word since she had gotten here. Sitting there with that damned smile on her face. Poisonous that smile was. Like a viper. He himself had been sweating bullets with anxiousness, trying desperately to fill the air with his idiotic stutterings. And all she did was sit there and stare him with that awful look in her eye. As if she was going to murder him in a few seconds and just stare at his dead body and move on, all the time with that terrifying smile still upon her face. Why wouldn't she move dammit! Just move you_- Peter's mind wrenched back into reality, his eyes widening in horror as he realized he had been staring at her as his mind took its little field day. His mouth was already forming a quick strained smile before he shot his eyes back down. _She would surely kill him now. Where were those papers!_ He laughed nervously again looking at her. He must have sounded like an empty-headed, giggling girl.

"I wonder what's taking so long? Well, I'll just check again." Peter pressed a button on his desk, connecting him to his secretary. "Ms. Pickens, are the papers here yet?" An irritable sigh echoed through the room.

"No Mr. Quinn," she said in a strained voice, "they are still getting checked in the other department." Peter gave an involuntary grimace at the prospect of having of stay here another second longer.

"Well perhaps-" Another exasperated sigh rang out. "With all due respect sir I must ask you not to ask me about the papers again. As I said before, when they get here I will give them to you. Right away! But nagging me will not get them here any faster! So if you please let me get back to work and stop bothering me!" The voice cut off with a deafening click. Peter licked his lips apprehensively.

"Well I guess its taking a lot longer than expected." She nodded slightly. Peter's brain screamed. _Ahhh! She moved! She moved!_ Peter looked away forcing himself to calm down.

Minutes ticked by. _Where were those papers?_ Peter sighed, beginning to tap his fingers against the table involuntarily. He stopped a few seconds later, his eyes widening as he realized what he was doing and then stopped. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet hers across the desk. She smiled back at him as he gulped waiting for fangs to spring out of her gums. He smiled shakily back before quickly looking away. He thought of something his Muggle niece used to say to him. 'Don't Hulk out Uncle Peter!' _she told him constantly, always accompanied by a playful eye roll. Hmph, whatever that was suppose to mean. Her brother (cynical, nasty little bugger in his opinion) always used to say it was more of a Courage the Cowardly Dog moment than a Hulk out._ He sighed, shaking his head, _who was supposed to understand Muggles and their odd jargons anyway._ Peter leaned back in his chair absentmindedly, thinking back. _But why did he 'Hulk' out or pull a Courage the Cowardly Dog (rather odd name by the way). I mean it couldn't be normal, him being freaked and jumpy all the time could it? I mean he had a fairly normal childhood and everything. _Peter pondered on that, his mind taking yet another fieldtrip.

His parents were quite normal, _a bit_ forgetful he supposed, but normal. You have to take into consideration that they were after all the parents of 5 kids. Peter was the middle child. He guess it might have been kind of odd, with the way his parents tended to introduce him when talking about the family. They would always start off with, "Yes, we have five kids," and of course then they had problems remembering all the children's names. He remembered it distinctly. His mother would smile and go, "Well there's our oldest Matthew," while pointing at her thumb and putting it down. Next the pinky came down, "then there's the baby of the family Lucy, and Thomas came right after Matt (index finger) and Mary (ring finger) is our second youngest." And then there's the mandatory frown and pause while looking at the middle finger. "Oh! And our middle son is Peter," mother would say while tapping her lone finger as people stared at her oddly. But this was all when he was very young, it didn't really stick with him. Of course he wasn't exactly sure what it meant until starting school. He would always introduce himself by holding up his middle finger and saying, "Hi I'm Peter." Apparently this didn't go over too well with some of the others. Well that was only one small thing, but it wasn't too strange. He's sure his parents meant nothing by it.

Most of his school years were pretty okay, not scary or anything. He wasn't really bullied that much after a couple finger incidents. I mean every other Tuesday he only got his books thrown away or hidden three times. And didn't get thrown into lockers or tripped and shoved or any other kind of hallway abuse nearly as much. Sometimes on Fridays the other kids were too excited about the weekend to even remember to push his head down the toilet. So school was pretty good in his opinion.

He didn't think he had any repressed memories or something like that from when he was a small child. Nothing traumatizing or anything. Even with that time in the carnival when he was 3. His family had wandered off somewhere without him and no one else noticed him at all. So he wandered around looking for them for hours until he eventually wandered into a building (which he later found out was the House of Mirrors). Would you like to know what seeing thousands of demented creatures all moving around you when you're three years old and still haven't fully grasped the concept of mirrors would do to you? Especially when you weren't one of those happy bubbly children or the wild adventurous kind. No, the House of Mirrors is not a good place to go when the sun is about to disappear and you're pale shaky three year old. And it didn't really help that you have to spend the night alone in a dark closet in the creepy building, only to be found by an old janitor in the morning, who is so frightened that he tries to beat you over the head with a broom. Or that you then had to spend the next day at the police station because your parents haven't notice you're gone and you too young to remember your phone number or address.

So that was a bit traumatizing, not much though I mean its not nearly as bad as when his grandmother decided to run off and join the circus when he was in 3rd grade. And then always brought her new found circus friends home with her in the summer, who always seemed to look at him funny. Trying to eat breakfast while a 400 lb. blue man was across the table, staring at you with a slight drool is not an easy feat. So that was rather odd. But still he would say that his childhood was pretty normal. 'Cept for that time with him and the goat and the shower when his mom walked in- a loud beep broke through his thoughts. Peter pounced on the button faster than his grandmother's lover, Pepé the tiger.

"Yes," he said breathlessly.

"Mr. Quinn, the papers are here." Peter's face broke into a grin.

"Finally," he breathed. His eyes widened, looking at her. "I mean, not that having your company hasn't been just lovely its just that you've been waiting _so_ long…" he trailed off. She gave another one of her small nods. "Well," he started again, standing up and going over to the door, "its been a- _pleasure_ meeting you. And I hope to see-" Peter paused, " I hope everything works out for you." She stood, walking over to him, her face inches from his.

"Thank you so much for your time Mr. Quinn," she breathed as she raised a finger, trailing it down his cheek. She gave one of her smiles and sauntered out of the office, snatching the papers out of the secretary's outstretched hand.

Peter closed the door, slumping agianst the wall, breathing shakily. She was something else. Seducing and poisonous all in one; sensual yet painful all in the same. She certainly was a viper. Exotic, enrapturing; deadly- a Delavontá.

* * *

Christina Delavontá smirked to herself walking out of the office and down the hall. That man had practically fainted the moment she stepped into his office. She had almost been certain he was going to pee his pants by the time she left. The whole charade had been utterly hilarious. She could have had some major fun with him (well fun for her at least), but alas, she would be creating no trouble for awhile. Those wretched Ministry officials had a tighter watch on her than even before she went to prison. Christina pouted to herself. _Damn those party-poopers._

Christina shook it off. It didn't matter, besides, she wasn't a child anymore. And anyway, she had more important matters to think about… like her daughter. Christina wasn't sure if she wanted to kill the girl or nurture her. Both options seemed a bit impractical now. Christina pushed it to the back of her mind and instead looked over the papers she got from the secretary. _Which took forever, might I add. They probably checked it over at least 3 more times than needed._ Christina scanned over the paper, looking for who would be performing the spell that would undo the apparation bind. _Ms. April Hennings._ Christina frowned. _Hennings_. That seemed familiar.

* * *

**They were two completely different worlds. They were like black and white, like night and day. They were heaven and hell. Who would have thought two such worlds could collide, crash, combine as they did. Yet somehow they had. The disclaimed daughter of my 'aunt', my lost childhood- ? What was she? What was I to her? **

**I was the person that teased her mercilessly, but playfully. I was her guider, her protector. Her… teacher. But was she to me? My friend, my lone confider? It was easy for me to make friends and there were far more of them that were easier to talk to. What was she to me?**

**She looked up to me. But not too much. We played together, yet we were not friends. I was older, and always in control. But then again somehow she was the only one that managed to capture my stare. She wasn't nothing, but she wasn't everything either. She was just something I suppose. But something that belonged to me. Something that was all mine. And mine alone.**

* * *

Christina turned the handle to the door marked 

_Rm. 203_

Ms. April Hennings 

_Apparation_

The room she had stepped into was fairly small and bare. A wooden desk was in the corner, adorned with a few embellishments of the owner. Two grey file cabinets were on the other side of the room and the floor was covered in a lush red carpet. There were no windows. It was almost enough to make her feel claustrophobic. If she was claustrophobic. Which of course she wasn't.

A women with short, close-cut, auburn hair was in the room. She was sitting at the desk marking off a stack of papers. Christina shut the door behind her. The woman didn't even look up. Christina stood by the door eyeing her warily. After a moment the woman stood and went over to the filing cabinet and began rifling through its contents, not even sparing Christina a glance the whole time. Christina frowned, still staring at the woman. _Hennings_. She looked so familiar, yet… different. Finally she slammed the cabinet shut and briskly walked over to Christina. Holding out her hand, her steely blue eyes met Christina's own deep brown ones.

"Papers?" Christina smirked with recognition.

"Well, well, well , look who it is."

* * *

April Hennings and Christina Delavontá had attended Hogwarts together in their school going days. Christina remembered Hennings. Quite well in fact. You see Christina, being a typical Slytherin, of course enjoyed (very much enjoyed) taunting and bullying others. Now most Slytherins went after Gryffindors, for they were the most fun, and always would be, being their natural enemies and all. So Gryffindors would always be her favorite prey, but you could also say she had a bit of a… lets say _sweet tooth_ for Hufflepuffs. They were so easy, not much a challenge to break down, but it was always fun to see how low they could truly go. 

Not to say none of them had spirit. Oh no no no, quite the contrary, I mean after all they were still human, just because they're _kind_ and _loyal_ or whatever doesn't mean they were all a bunch of pansies (though quite a few were). You see making others' lives a living hell could be compared to a vacation. You could go to a bullfight in Spain or simply have a relaxing afternoon on the beach in Morocco; both are fun with there own appropriate times for each. Like, I like my spice, but sometimes I just want some ice cream. And thus we have compared the art of torturing Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Do you understand? Anyway, while I'm at it I must add-

Hennings was my ultimate Hufflepuff target.

She had long, straight, auburn hair, which almost came to her knees. Her eyes were blue with a hint of grey and a rather malicious glint for a Hufflepuff. She also had an odd taste for weird necklaces and dangly earrings made of paperclips and other 'office supplies'.

Oh and of course she was a muggleborn.

Hennings got the brunt of Christina's, worst, meanest, craziest, vicious side. You could go on for days about the atrocities committed in their long ago days at Hogwarts, but that would most likely take an eternity. All you need to know is Christina made April's life a living hell. And knew nothing of the trauma and immense damage that had happened to April and the long and excruciating process of moving on with her life. Needless to say the atmosphere in the room was not very... nice.

* * *

"Goodness, I hardly recognized your name." Christina gave a poisonous smile. "It has been _too_ long." April said nothing, if anything, her glare just intensified. Christina ignored this, only giving out a small laugh. "My, my, my, look at you," she said starting to circle around her, "how much we've changed." The scene looked more like a wolf circling its prey than a friend giving an admiring glance. April's head swiveled about as Christina walked around her, never taking her eyes off Christina's own. It may have had been 16 years, but April still didn't trust that woman enough to touch her with a five foot long stick. Christina stopped once again in front of April. "Oh and you cut your hair," she went on in a fake, overly sweet voice. "It used to be so _terribly_ long." Christina reached out to touch her hair. April's hand came rapid fast, slapping Christina's own before it could touch her. Christina gave a little pout. "Ouch. That's no way to treat a long lost classmate." April took a deep breath as if it was taking everything in her power not to hex Christina right then and there. 

Which of course it was.

"I need your papers now please," she said in an even, but strained voice. Christina ignored her going over to the desk and sitting down in the swivel chair.

"These things are so fun, aren't they," she said, spinning around a few times. April gave an exasperated sigh, resisting an eye roll.

"Papers now please," she said through gritted teeth, this time a little less calm and a little more strained. Christina stopped spinning, and pouted once more.

"Ah, so formal, Hennings." Then her face brightened up considerably. "Oh that's right," she said, standing up and going back over to April. "You're the one who's going give me my," she leaned in closer so that their noses almost were touching, "_my freedom_." April stood stock-still continuing to glare stonily into Christina's eyes. "How," Christina breathed, reaching up once more and twirling a piece of April's bangs between her fingers, "_ironic_." They stood there for a second, just staring, the tension in the air almost touchable with sparks darting all around them. Then Christina smirked backing up and hopping onto April's desk, knocking a few things over in the process. "Okay, okay," she said taking out her papers. "I see you are determined to be absolutely no fun. Here are your precious papers, dearie." Christina held out the conformation papers she had gotten from the secretary. April reached forward without hesitation to grab them, but as soon as her fingertips brushed them Christina yanked back, a vicious smile still on her face. April glared at her fiercely once more. Christina gave another small pout.

"Fine, fine, just kidding." She shoved the papers back at April, who snatched them up immediately. Christina frowned, watching her look through them. "Gosh you're such a meanie." April gave no reply, just continued to go through the papers. "Oh come on Hennings," Christina said getting up off the desk and walking around the room. "You've hardly said a word to me since we were," Christina straightened one of the plaques on the wall, "_reunited_." She smiled, looking over her shoulder at April. April continued to ignore her, pouring over the paperwork. Christina gave a loud exaggerated sigh. "Heeenniinnngsss," she singsonged. "Heeenniinnngsss, oh Heeenniinnngsss." She walked back in front of April. "Hennings." She leaned in closer. "Hennings," she repeated still staring at April, who was determined not to look up. Christina leaned in even closer. "_April_," she whispered.

In a flash April threw down the papers, grabbed Christina by the neck and pointed her wand directly at her face. Breathing hard with repressed anger, April stood like that for a moment, seething. Christina was just relaxed there, that smile still remaining on her face, but with a bit more of a deadly spark in her eyes. She shook her head slightly. "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, Hennings. You still haven't learned to control that temper of yours. Always flaring up at the worst times isn't it." Christina's smile disappeared completely, replaced by an angry scowl. "I suggest you let go of me this instant. It would be in your _best interest._" April faltered a bit. Christina raised a mocking eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've forgotten that I'm always being watched now did you. Tut, tut, forgetful as always, Hennings. It wouldn't be advisable for me to be hurt right now, especially by one of the Ministry's own." Christina's smile popped back onto her face. "Friends in high places you know," she whispered.

April continued to glare at her for a few more seconds before letting her go, her wand, however, still pointed at her. Wordlessly April made several complicated sharp swishing movements with her wand and green and blue streams of light came out, wrapping themselves around Christina before disappearing.

"There, it's done." April turned away, rifling once more though the file cabinet. "Turn right out of this door, walk straight down the hall. There is a door to the outside. You can apparate from there. Now leave."

"Fine then I'm going. Oh and I'd like to thank you again. You know for helping me and all. Well, chao." Christina walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

**It didn't really affect me much. Mostly Granger. But there was still a lingering curiosity. What did she look like? What was her personality? I mean she was almost my mother. Or actually, coming to think of it, I almost didn't exist because of her. **

**I wonder what she'll be like. Will I like her more than my own mother? Then again probably not; two deatheaters in my immediate family. Nightmare.**

**Now there'll be another person with a deatheater as a parent. They should put a huge sign up saying,**

**"_Welcome to the Dark Side, Granger._**

_**Enjoy your stay in Hell."**_

* * *

_Her hair is ugly. Hideous. It should be a crime to do that to a child._ Christina was standing right outside Hennings's apparation office, looking down at a small girl. She must have been 6 or 7 and was wearing pale blue robes that glittered. Her eyes were a bright blue, which were currently staring at Christina with mild curiosity. And then, there was the most important factor, the hair. It was dirty blond and cut awfully short. It looked rather like a longish, boyish kind of cut, which stopped a bit past her ears and accented with a sort of choppy bangs in the front as if someone had tried to make it more girlish that way (key word being _tried_.). Christina continued to watch the child which the same mild interest the girl was giving herself. She glanced up and down the hallways. Nothing. Nobody. She saw the girl take this instant to glance at the door behind Christina. _Ah so she's Hennings is she._ Christina smiled. 

"Hello." The girl gave a tentative smile.

"Hello."

"What's your name?"

"Sarah. What's yours?"

"Christina."

"Are you one of mummy's appointments, Christina?"

"Why yes I am, Sarah." The girl shook her head slowly.

"That's not true." Christina raised an eyebrow.

"And just why can't that be true?"

"Because. Mummy said she only had one appointment today. And she said it was with a very mean, evil lady. And you don't seem mean or evil." Christina smiled.

"Why thank you Sarah," she said, continuing with a soft syrupy voice. "Your mother can be rather _judgmental _sometimes-" suddenly the door behind them burst open revealing a rather distraught April. Her eyes landed on Christina and Sarah with much fear. Darting around Christina, she grabbed at her daughter. April looked frantically over her as if to make sure no severe damage had occurred, before quickly putting the child behind herself. After all this had happened she turned to Christina giving her a fiercer glare than ever before.

"Mummyyy," came the girl's muffled, but indignant cry, "that wasn't very nice." Christina raised an eyebrow haughtily.

"No, it wasn't very nice at all."

"Yeah, we were in the middle of a _conversation,_" the little girl's voice came again. Christina smirked.

"That's right. A conversation. And interrupting it was very rude indeed. What do you have to say for yourself, Hennings?" April said nothing, her face just turned a rather dangerous shade of red and twitched with rage.

Her message was clear.

Christina ignored it.

Instead she peered around April looking at Sarah. "Has your mother always been this way, Sarah?" she questioned. "You know, the strong silent type." The girl shook her head vigorously.

"No most times she talks even more than me. She only gets real quiet when she's angry." The girl gave a quick glance up at her mother before whispering, "I don't think she likes you very much."

"You know what, Sarah," Christina whispered back, "I don't think so either." April took this moment to shift again so Christina couldn't see her. Christina glared at April. "Oh come on Hennings, I wasn't going to hurt her. I mean if anyone's causing damage to that child it's you." April's eyes darkened.

"It think its time for you to leave." Christina went on ignoring her.

"I mean come on, look at the child's hair. What are you trying to do, traumatize the girl." At this the child wrestled out from behind her mother.

"I know!" she exclaimed. "She won't let me grow it out. She probably wants me to have short hair like-" the girl was pushed back behind her mother, "-hers."

"Is that so. Well that isn't very nice of her. But you know what, I know something that helps your hair grow faster. Chocolate Frogs."

"Really!" came the girls muffled reply.

"Yep. And if you eat enough, pretty soon your hair will be as long a your mum's hair when she was a little girl." An astonished cry come form behind Hennings.

"Mummy had long hair when she was my age!"

"Of course. All the way down to her knees. And guess what. She loved Chocolate Frogs. And speaking of them," Christina rummaged around in her robes for a second before pulling out a small box, "here's one to get you started." Before her mother could stop her, Sarah snatched the frog and got a tiny nibble just as her mother grabbed it, crushed it between her hands, dropped the pieces on the floor, and stomped on them. Then taking out her wand she moved as if to _scourgify _the whole mess, but instead she pointed it Christina.

"Leave." Christina shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine then." She walked toward the exit. "Bye Sarah," she called over her shoulder.

"Bye Christina," Sarah yelled back.

* * *

**I know nothing about her. That single statement threw me off balance, turned my world upside down, made everything spin uncontrolled, handed my life over to Chaos. **

**I know nothing about her.**

**I like order; stability has to be in my life. It's the way it's always been. I like knowing things. My worst fear is being thrust into a situation for which I am not prepared.**

**Yet here I am.**

**And there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Every detail is out of my control and this is never good.**

_**I fear, too early: for my mind misgives  
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars  
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date  
With this night's revels and expire the term  
Of a despised life closed in my breast  
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.**_

_**-Romeo (Romeo and Juliet A1,S4)**_

**Why did I feel my life was about to become as gruesome as a Shakespearian play?**

**

* * *

**

Stepping out into the sunlight Christina walked over to the gates. Her cheery smile disappeared and was replaced by a sour grimace as she looked back at the entrance to the Ministry building (cleverly disguised as an old abandoned warehouse that smelt strongly of urine and animal intestines).

"Bye Christina," she mimicked childishly. Rolling her eyes she turned around, swinging the gate open. _Children made her sick._ Slamming the gate behind her, she sighed. _So much for not creating trouble._ Christina paused, looking back at the building once more. _Wait for it._ Piercing screams irrupted from inside the offices. Christina smirked devilishly. _Ah the wonderment of cursed candies just waiting to be so eagerly eaten up by innocent little children._ Christina could just imagine the chaos and horror that had to be taking place inside. Hennings probably shouldn't have crumbled that chocolate frog up into so many pieces, especially since now she had discovered that she couldn't in fact _scourgify_the mess and that the pieces were now turning into acid tendrils of chocolaty goodness, and wrapping themselves around wherever their chocolate selves had touched. Too bad for Hennings that she just had to crush them with her hands _and_ her shoes. And its also too bad her little girl got that nibble of the chocolate and probably swallowed some.

Christina shrugged, walking further away from the gate. They were in the Ministry of Magic for goodness sake. They'll be fine, one of those airheads with a wand should be able to fix them (_should_) and they wouldn't remember anything anyway, just dear ol' Christina Delavontá walking out of the building and apparating away.

* * *

**I never thought I'd see her again. 16 long years she'd been gone. And now, just tomorrow, she was coming back. The first time I heard… I panicked. I flew off to Luxembourg claiming I needed to do one thing or another, but now I'm back, and I'm going to see her. 16 long years. 16 terrible years. **

**Her own flesh and blood is currently staying in this house. Who would have ever thought the Granger girl, the Mudblood, would be her daughter? The girl was nice and pleasant; I think I like her. It is a shame though, who her mother is and all. She probably wouldn't be like that very soon, nice and pleasant. But what can I do? I'm too old, too broken, too tired. Lucius has been angrier than ever and I saw the way he was looking at her.**

**Tonight I heard her screams… I feared the worst.**

**She however appeared in one piece this morning, a bit shaken, but whole. But how-- my son?**

**My son.**

**She may have thought he saved her, but I believe that she in fact, may have saved him. There is hope yet for him; hope, a word long out of use in this family's life. There is hope for them both.**

* * *

Christina stood outside the gates looking up at the huge manor. Breathing deeply she felt a tiny tinge of nervousness for the first time. Shaking it off she tapped her wand against the gate. 

"Name," a clear voice said.

"Christina Delavontá." There was a pause, then the gates slowly swung open. Christina walked up the path to the house. She lifted the doorknocker. _This was it._ She knocked.

* * *

**A.N.-** So I've finally grown a brain and figured out how to keep people posted on what's happening between chapters and how far along I am without posting author notes as chapters and getting you all excited thinking they're chapters when they're not (don't you hate it when that happens). **My profile!** (duh) So anyway just check my profile, and I'll update you guys on the progress every few days. 

Thanks for reading my story and please please please review! Its like I'm a car (a metallic blue Corvette Convertible to be exact) and I need fuel or aka REVIEWS to keep me going or MOTIVATED ! So come on tell me what you liked, what you didn't, hell just tell me you read it. Anyway I love you all, keep reviewing!

And a special thanks to all my wonderful reviewers from Chapter 9!

**jen-** Where have i been? Hiding out in the bottom of an empty well from furious reviewers of course! lol I know, I know, I am awful. I'm terrible at updating, always have been. Wooo! DracoHermione pairing rules! Lol I'll try harder at finishing quickly next time.

**Firedoll22-** Ahh that's sooo nice. I'm glad you like my story cuz I'm on the verge of not liking it at all. But no worries I will finish! And I will finish it well! Lol too much kool-aid. Thankx for reviewing!

**someone-** Nope I haven't stopped. Updating is not one of my strong points as you can tell. I'm glad you liked this chapter, hope you like the next one!

**XOxOkIsSmYaSsXoXo- **lol I don't know if this update could be considered as soon. Nothing much happened in this chapter, but trust me interesting events will ensue in Chappie 11.

**manda490-** If waiting a month was torture I hate to think what these 3 have done to you. As for what will happy to Draco and Hermione, you'll just have to wait and see! ;-D But trust me, they're about to get even closer… whether they like it or not. Mwhahaha! I'm evil, I can't help it. Anyway they will be using the tattoos more, well I don't know about more, but it will play a very, very important part.

**dc-chick-** Thanks! I've always liked reading so I figured why not writing too! I haven't figured out whether I really like it or not yet. Thankx for the review, I'm glad you enjoy my story.

**Red Satin and Black Silk-** As for the thing about talking to their friends. Ahhh I don't know. Maybe, maybe not… okay I've held out long enough. The next chappie coming soon anyway. Lets just say they might not be talking to anyone they know for awhile. But them talking to their friends will come eventually but not necessarily the way you might think. Oh and I absolutely love your user id. ;-D

**AngelicDreams-** Mark my words, this story will be pretty long (well long enough) and there will be plenty of twists, turns, and conflicts. Lol its so exciting knowing what will happen when the readers don't. _hangs my head shamefully_ Is that an evil thing to say? Well I'll try to update as soon as possible so as not to leave everyone is suspense for so long like this time. So anyway, you're an English Major! And you like my story! _jumps around in glee_ ;-D I'm thinking about majoring in English, that or something to do with art. I still don't know. I know I know I'm a bad girl. I still have absolutely no clue what I want to do. I keep jumping back and forth. I'm glad you liked this chapter. I don't think this one is up to par but I'll have much more to write about next chapter! … wow I have got to leave shorter reviewer replies.

**oOBittersweetnessOo-** I'm glad I was able to capture your attention. What kind of stories do you like? Perhaps I could recommened some good ones from my favorite list or something (though I haven't had much time to actually **read** stories since I started really getting into writing this one). I'm happy you liked my story though! Thankx for reviewing.

**Katjuska- **THE NEW CHAPPIE HAS ARRIVED!1 lol Glad you liked it. Keep reviewing my wonderful reviewer! ;-

**SLytHeRiNcHiCk 101-** I know! Its sooo hard to update some times. But alas, I work through it. ;- Three months is not soon, but I promise to do better next time! …. well **_promise_** is a bit strong. Lol

**LollySpazzXX-** Wow. Just plain thank you completely does not cover it. Its reviews like this that help me remember that I'm not some total loser that thinks she can write and that I'm actually doing an okay job. Lol, with the way you word things I hope you write too!

**baie-baie-** MORE IS HERE! Glad you liked it.

**dagwood-** Thanky thanky! I'm happy you liked it and that you reviewed! Lol I never know what to write for reviews either!

**ezza-** thankx for the review (yay! people are actually reading my story! You are a person right? I mean you're not a _penguin_ or anything are you? Its okay if you are, your review is still appreciated;-D) and I'm glad you like the story! Sry that in my world the words 'update' and 'soon' do not go very well together. They're like enemies or something! Like Draco and Hermione! Maybe they'll fall in love just like them too! …… Yah, I wish.

**BeautifulMisconception-** I know Draco was being so sweet. I couldn't believe it… then again I was the one wrote it. Lol. It was so exicting writing the kitchen scene, it was one of those things that had been in my head forever, I just had to let it out! When I was rereading the chapter (yah know to edit obsessively) I started spazzing to (again even though I was the one that had wrote it);- Thanks for the great review!

**Auden-** lol I'm not sure about the best ever but thank you so much anyway. Its saying things like that that will make my ego grow to an unnaturally large size. Don't worry! Be happy! More intimate scenes to come!

**Brandybuckbeak-** Lasting the whole day on 6 hours sleep. Lol its possible, I think I've done it before. I hate it when Hermione and Draco fall in love so fast, so I'm trying to take it slow so its more realistic, but its getting harder. Thanks for reviewing this chapter, I look forward to reading the rest of them (if I can ever get the other chapters finished)

**sexiprincess1288-** _gasp_ wadda you mean you don't go for Draco and Hermione stories! Scandalous! Lol jk. I'll try to make it romantic and realistic without going into to mush and overly sappy things. I mean come on we're talking about Draco and Hermione, mush doesn't suit them, then they'd be all squishy. Thankx for the review!

**Sakura A. Moon-** Hey Kat! Glad you liked it and that you thought waiting was worth it. I'm not so sure about this chapter though. See on Sept. 6! Hopefully we have some classes together, I know your probably taking honors.

I've just realized that I say lol way _way_ too much.


	11. Out of Your Element: The Escape

**A.N.** Well, I'm back everybody! Come on people don't give up hope, I told you I wasn't going to ever give up on this story; I'll finish…. eventually. What was it this time, 6, 7 months? Gosh, I'm awful, but this is the 2nd longest chapter. Okay well just two things before I go on to the chapter. **1)** There was a slight inconspicuous change in this chapter, about how Christina 'brought tons of people down with her', well…. She didn't, at least that's the way it is now, not really important though. … and **SORRY** if Hermione seems a bit OOC in this chapter, it annoyed me to pieces…_tear_ could ya'll possibly spare a second to read the **SHORT** (or maybe not) author's note down at the bottom!

Thanks to **_Sakura A. Moon _**for being my beta for this chapter and giving me her opinions!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Out of Your Element: The Escape**

* * *

Auror Lukas Domítos's shoulders relaxed as he deeply inhaled that one of a kind scent. That special aroma that was strong, yet warm and comforting, but also with a twang of bitter goodness. He moved his hands affectionately along the middle of his golden yellow ceramic mug. Lukas had developed a rather intense liking towards the famous Muggle beverage. 

It had all started the morning after 7th year graduation. He was at a friend's house with apparently no clue how he got there and why his head was throbbing so painfully (which was of course due to the excessive amounts of firewhiskey he had consumed the night before). Anyway, his friend, being muggleborn (and a considerably lighter drinker than he), had thrust some sort of warm drink into his hands. At first he thought it was cocoa or something, but at the first whiff of that tantalizing fragrance, at the first sip of that warm, sharp taste, he knew that this drink was like none other. It pretty much all went downhill from there. He became a crazed, coffee freak; caffeine addicted with off the chart levels of obsessiveness. He started with one cup a day, then two, then it became a must have with every meal. He had it for a midnight snack and then an afternoon snack. 'Teatime' soon became 'coffeetime'. He had tried it all; experimented with everything. Slow roasted, instant-made, mocha to french vanilla to hazelnut, lattes, frapps, cappuccinos, had all passed through his lips at one time or another. But even after all those, nothing beat that first coffee. Strong, black, no milk, no sugar, just a good ol' cup of joe.

"Luke," Lukas jerked out of his daze, realizing he had been steadily staring into his coffee for the past minute and a half. Quickly, he moved the cup behind a stack of papers, just as another man rounded the corner of his cubicle. His fascination with coffee, a muggle drink no less, had made him the butt of many jokes and excessive name calling, especially surrounded by his uptight, tea-drinking, muggle-scorning colleagues.

"Luke," the man said again jollily, "there you are." He put a large stack of files on his desk. "These are the cases you need to look at for next week, but here," he pulled out another file, handing it to Lukas, "is one you need to get on right away." The man leaned in close to Lukas. "It's top priority you hear," he whispered. Lukas's eyes widened a bit and he nodded slowly. The man straightened. "Well then," he said, letting go of the file, "have a good day." He disappeared round the corner again. Lukas sighed, looking at the manila envelope in his hands. _Top priority huh?_ Lukas looked at the little tab with the profile's name and status. Lukas raised an eyebrow, reading it,

_Christina Delavontá: Extremely Dangerous (16 yrs.)_

Lukas bit his lip looking from the file to his coffee's hiding place. This case seemed interesting, but would it be worth putting his coffee on hold (he always had to devote his full attention to his coffee while drinking it). _Phfff- Ms. Top Priority Extremely Dangerous can wait._ His coffee was calling him. Eagerly, Lukas reached for his coffee, throwing the file on top of the others. Something fell out of it, landing back on Lukas's desk. Lukas paused, his coffee inches from his lips, looking at he picture. He raised an eyebrow, setting his coffee down again. Perhaps his coffee could wait after all.

* * *

It was the mandatory picture taken of every prisoner before they went to Azkaban. Same full-length pose. Same random spot of light. Same dull and dreary background. But somehow this picture wasn't the same, for one there was nothing dull about it. But then again, perhaps it wasn't the picture itself, perhaps it was just the person in it. The girl… erm, the young lady? The _woman_ was cool and collected, yet fiery and exotic. She was dark and mysterious. She was gorgeous- no, no she was enchantingly beautiful. 

In the picture she was smiling. But it was no ordinary smile. It was Leonardo DaVinci's _Mona Lisa_ smile. Like she held the secrets of the world, and would never tell you a thing. As if she knew something you didn't and it was her greatest pleasure to watch you writhe in desperation wanting to know. In those eyes you could tell she held power. That her secrets were essential to everything; the essence of all. That they were poisonous yet completely pure. That they were enigmas yet so simple.

Her secrets were all her own.

It was as if she knew the exact date and time you would die, and you would never even figure it out until the second after you reach the destination of your eternal days. And the only way she would know was because she was the one that had killed you.

Those were her secrets.

She held Pandora's Box behind her eyes. She was the Goddess Chaos. She was not the Queen of Night, but of pure darkness itself. But whatever she ruled over she was certainly a Queen and a Goddess. And wasn't likely to let anyone forget it. She held a superior air around her. But while most people would run far-far away because of her secrets, her poison, many (foolish) people still surrounded her, entranced.

She was like a dark veela.

Her pitch black hair fell in long, slightly curly waves that caught the light perfectly as she moved her head, as if some mysterious moonlight was always shining above her. Her figure was curvy, not like an abstract Picasso painting, but gorgeously enhancing her figure. She was also… well lets say rather well-endowed.

Hey, he was a man, he had to point it out.

Her robes were a midnight blue with an intertwining silver and black lining that hugged her in all the right places. A lace pattern on the sleeves with the silver, black and blue, began at the elbows, flowing out and draped down, rather resembling some sort of gothic Halloween costume (but much more elegant with less black). The front had a low V-neck cut and in the center there was a necklace with a sapphire pendant in a diamond shape with tiny diamonds surrounding it.

In the picture she didn't move too much. She stared at him, giving him a sly look once and awhile. Occasionally, she said things to him that of course he couldn't hear, but made him feel unusually hot and uncomfortable anyway. Every so often she'd change positions and he soon found that she had one long slit on the left side of her robe that allowed him a tantalizing glimpse of her creamy, smooth, high heeled leg. Her complexion was pure perfection with that creamy smooth almost edible skin covering her entire body. The body of an angel. Lukas chuckled to himself. But apparently this was no angel. Her status was 'Extremely Dangerous' with 16 years. Lukas picked up the folder from on top the pile and opened it.

* * *

**Background **

**Name: **Christina Viviana Delavontá

Parents: Bastien Ciel Delavontá _(wizard)_ and Isabella Natalia Delavontá _(witch)_

**Blood: **Pure

**Born:** Montpellier, France

**Education:** Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _(completed)_

**Children:** 1, Hermione Jane Granger-Delavontá

**Parents of Child:** Christina Viviana Delavontá _(witch) _and Thomas Andrew Slen _(muggle)_

Offenses 

**Crime:** Having strong ties with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and other Death Eaters. Suspected of being a Death Eater. Improper use of Dark Magic resulting in death and/or torture.

**Sentence**: 2 life terms

**Location of Served Sentencing:** Azkaban

**Time Served:** 16 years

**Reason for Release: **New evidence showing lack of substance in case

**Other Tried Cases:** Murder and kidnapping of Thomas Slen, muggle. _(verdict- not guilty)_

**Special Circumstances:** explained in detail in **Crimes** section _(see pg. 16)_

* * *

Luke flipped through the portfolio scanning across various parts of it. 

Christina Delavontá was born to Bastien and Isabella Delavontá, presently who reside in the Delavontá Château in France. The Delavontás originated in France while the Cattiverias (Isabella's family) are of Italian descent. Though both families were pureblood, the Delavontás were considered slightly higher than the Cattiverias.-

-Christina attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and graduated with extremely high marks (it is rumored that after graduation Ms. Delavontá and Lucius Malfoy- another student at Hogwarts from a prominent pureblood family- were to be married. However, after the said crime was committed, the wedding was called off. Mr. Malfoy currently resides at Malfoy Manor in England with his wife (Narcissa Black) and son (Draco).-

_-At the time she was also tried and released- though with much suspicion- for the involvement in the disappearance (suspected murder or magical torture) of Thomas Slen, muggle. On the night in question Miss Delavontá was returning from a party that she had attended with some friends (see '**Interviews**' pg. 33), all, including Christina, seemed to be heavily intoxicated. After parting ways, Christina then waved down a Dragon Star (a highly expensive personal transportation, mostly used by elite purebloods, who wouldn't 'demean themselves by riding the Knight Bus'), but before she could get in, Mr. Thomas Slen approached her. The two then began talking, leaving a very disgruntled driver waiting. The driver- the last person to see Mr. Slen before he left with Ms. Delavontá- said that Christina seemed severely intoxicated, and Thomas slightly tipsy himself (see '**Interviews**' pg. 35) after a minute or so Christina closed the door to the Dragon Star (exit driver) and apparently went to a nearby flat where Mr. Slen was residing.-_

_-An investigation went on for the Slen case, and a not guilty verdict was reached in both the Muggle (with had to take place due to the nature of the crime) and wizarding courts. the reference of 'not guilty' in this case does not mean that the person was in fact 'not guilty' only that the sodding wench managed to cover up her tracks far too well for her own good, so there was not enough evidence (due to the fact that her extremely brilliant intelligence had been unfortunately been put to use for all evil) During this investigation certain items and other evidence was found linking her to many illegal dark magic, Death Eater activities with hidden agendas of wrongful acts, and also some other instances linking her directly to the You-Know-Who himself. All detailed information is classified, personnel with access to pages in portfolio see pg. 44-_

_-for this reason, Ms. Delavontá was tried and found guilty. It was a great step for the Ministry and Aurors to bring down a member of one of the oldest 'suspected' dark pureblood families.-_

_-"She remained very sickeningly loyal throughout the whole process. Unfortunately we were not able to bring anyone down with her. No immediate family or relatives, no friends…" (see '**Interviews**' pg. 49)-_

_-However when all else seemed to be going according to plan something else suddenly came up. During the mandatory tests before all criminals are sent to Azkaban, the Healers found a problem. Christina was, in fact, pregnant. Which is a 'Special Circumstance' all in itself, but what was even more disturbing was that after a few more tests it was found that the father was, if truth be told, the one and only, Thomas Slen. Due to this fact (and that Ms. Delavontá flat out refused to have the baby in prison) it was decided that she would be put under house arrest for the months until the baby was born. the 'house', was not in fact her own château, for it was suspected still to have much Dark Magic and other dangerous objects associated with it. Instead, it was a Ministry assigned location watched over 24/7 During this time it was the Ministry's job to figure out what to do with the child. Christina wished for the child to be given to her parents (Bastien and Isabella Delavontá) but the Ministry did not feel safe having the child raised in that environment due to the nature of the crime. Also due to the fact that the child in question had 'brought shame to the family's name and possibly all purebloods' (because she was of pureblood and Muggle descent), putting the child with relatives or any other pureblood family was out of the question. The Delavontás, the same as many other old pureblood families, had made quite a few enemies due to their views and certain actions, so everyone else in the wizarding world was potentially unsafe. The child was not to be placed with the Slens, for the child would produce very tricky questions not to mention some rather unpleasant, possibly hateful feelings if the child was found to be a witch and the family was in fact introduced to the wizarding world (resulting in some very hard feelings and possibly the revealing of "the other half of London"). The Slens were never to know the child existed.-_

_-therefore the child's parents were to be muggles who would be introduced for to wizarding world. It was all very delicate, in which Hogwarts professor (current Headmaster) was involved-_

_-The Grangers had been chosen for the child and were put under the Perfalic Charm under their own will. When Christina was released (see '**Horrible Stupid Things That People Do**' pg.55). All went according to plan (with the child staying with her mother and the Malfoy family until recently-_

**

* * *

**

Lukas closed the folder, sighing and rubbing his eyes. He would look at the rest later. But one thing was for sure, this new assignment was going to be a hell of a lot more interesting than his usual mind-numbing cases.

Lukas smiled eagerly, remembering his coffee. He picked it up, closing his eyes and inhaling that warm, strong- Lukas's eyes popped open as a frown appeared on his face. Dipping his pinky in his coffee, Lukas brought it to his lips, licking off the single drop of brown liquid. He then thumped the mug down with a bang and a slight splash.

His coffee was cold.

* * *

**

* * *

**A small house elf opened the door to the Malfoy Manor, its eyes downcast. 

"Welcome back Ms. Delavontá. If you would please follow me to the parlor, the Malfoys and Ms.-" the house elf paused, shaking slightly, "the Malfoys and your daughter are awaiting you." The elf continued to walk a bit before stopping in front of a mahogany door. He knocked twice lightly before turning the knob and slowly opening the door. He bowed to the family and stepped aside saying, "Ms. Christina Delavontá."

* * *

The whole family (including of course Hermione) stood as she entered. Lucius shooed the house elf away with a single movement of his hand, before reaching it out to Christina. His eyes traveled over her body eagerly, ravishingly, almost sinisterly, as he took her hand and kissed it (a bit longer than he should have mind you). 

"It's wonderful to see you back Christina. All in one piece I hope?" Christina smiled, her dark eyes meeting Lucius's cool grey ones, challenging each other, teasing each other.

"Of course Lucius. Everything went fine… well for me at least." She gave a small laugh. Lucius straightened, letting go of her hand and turned instead to Narcissa.

"Christina you should remember my wife, Narcissa." Christina fought down the urge to smirk wickedly and instead put on a cheery (but fake) smile. Oh she couldn't wait to see the look on Narcissa's face. The woman had avoided her last time, but no matter, it simply gave her time to get closer to Lucius without… interruption. _Black may have gotten Lucius because of my own stupidness, but she's in for a rude awakening if she thinks things are going to stay just peachy. Her little picture perfect life is about to come crashing down about her fragile little ears._

Christina outstretched her arms slightly, turning to Narcissa. _That little wench had to know, the game was still on_. Christina smiled even wider, leaning in.

"'Cissa, dar-" Christina's voice hitched at the sight of her. Where was the ever so delicately hidden devil's glare? Where was that pleasant sneer? Where was that snide, but 'hospitable' witty remark on the tip of her tongue. Where was 'Cissa'!

Christa remembered why her arms were outstretched. "-ling," she finished, hugging Narcissa. "Its absolutely fabulous to see you again. It has been _too_ long." Narcissa smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, hell, it hardly reached her cheeks, but that was the only kind of smile she had been giving for awhile now.

"I agree Christina, it _has_ been too long. We have much catching up to do. Wouldn't you agree?" Christina nodded slowly, still looking at Narcissa closely.

"Yes, of course." Lucius put a hand on Christina's shoulder bringing her back to attention.

"And this is my son, Draco. He's just finished his 6th year of Hogwarts." Christina raised her eyebrows happily, laying eyes on the only Malfoy heir. Let's just say he was very _very_ easy on the eyes. Oh hell, he was _gorgeous_. Even more so than his father at his age. And his hair was long, but still considerably shorter than Lucius's ponytail (which Christina could never stand anyway). His eyes were not quite the cold and calculating grey as his father, but instead had a hint of blue. _He must have gotten that from his mother_. And speaking of his eyes, they were currently gleaming rather wickedly at her as in one fluid he quickly looked her up and down. _Oh, he is the little devil isn't he? _Draco reached down, taking her hand, his elfin smile turning into a small smirk. He kissed her it, though not a second longer than he should have, but it definitely not as innocent as it should have been. Christina resisted the urge to _'tsk'_ and go '_naughty, naughty_'. Draco began straightening, but not before ever so slightly giving another suggestive glance at… Herm- her daugh- at _her_. The girl scowled only slightly, but her eyes were shooting fire at him. _Interesting_. Draco straightened fully, his small smirk gone and replaced with again his smile.

"I am delighted to finally make your acquaintance Ms. Delavontá." His voice was silkily smooth, dark and cool, but not icy. Apparently he was quite the charmer too.

"Oh the pleasure is all mine. But please, call me Christina."

"If you wish it," he said nodding slightly, "-Christina," he purred, his voice fluttering seductively as he said her name. Christina wanted to giggle like a little schoolgirl. Perhaps her stay at the Manor would be a bit more fun than she had anticipated.

_Christina! _-a small voice scolded in her head.

_What!_

_He's almost young enough to be your son!_

_But he's not is he?_

_No but-_ Christina blocked out the demonic voices in her head and focused back on Draco, who ever so slightly winked. You could have easily mistaken it for a blink, but she could tell, he had _winked_ at her.

Oh this boy was _trouble_.

"And this," Lucius started, motioning Hermione forward, "is Hermione." Christina held her breath a bit, finally standing directly in front her- her daughter. "Hello," the girl said. Christina thought she heard a slight tremor in her voice, but could see most of the girl's nervousness through her eyes. _Goodness we are going to have to work on her self-control._ Hermione opened her mouth as if to say more, but stopped abruptly, either too scared or too nervous to continue.

"Hello," replied Christina. She forced herself say it. "-Hermione." Hermione gave a small smile. Lucius then interrupted.

"Well, I'm sure you two will need some time. Notter will lead you to the library. You may talk there. Just tell Notter if you need anything."

* * *

_**Narcissa**_

The door opened slowly revealing Notter. _What! So soon!_ It felt as if she had just sat down. She had even missed the doorbell and the two taps on the door.

Notter bowed then ran out as Lucius shooed him away.

And then _she_ stepped forward. There she was in all her glory. Flesh and blood, standing in the doorway. There. she. was. Right there… It felt… Narcissa almost frowned. She felt… nothing. So the woman had finally arrived… so what. All this time Narcissa had avoided her and she never even thought to think what it would actually feel like… and in reality it didn't feel like much of anything.

Lucius kissed her hand and talked with her a second; she really wasn't focusing on what was said. Though it was painfully obvious that they were flirting shamelessly, never-mind that his wife and son were right there.

She had been out of focus all morning. It took too much of her strength to actually get up and do the normal things she was supposed to. Most days she just stayed in bed. She was so tired all the time.

Narcissa became aware of Draco's eyes burning into the back of her head. She resisted the need to sigh piteously. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to stick up for herself. He wanted her to tell this shameless woman where she could shove it and reclaim her 'husband'.

He wanted her to be his mother…

But she couldn't.

All Narcissa wanted to do was curl up in a ball right there on the floor and go to sleep. She just wanted to sleep, to make it all go away. To drift away to a dreamless nothing, with no memories, no pain.

Now Christina was right in front of her, throwing her arms out and talking in that fake cheery voice that actually meant she wanted to skin you alive. That voice, those eyes, almost made her feel… something, stirring slowing inside her.

Almost.

Christina stopped abruptly when she looked at Narcissa, her eyes searching. _Well whatever you're looking for it's not there._ But Narcissa knew what she was looking for; she was looking for anger, she was looking for jealously, spite, sadness, defeat… emotion. Narcissa sensed a shadow of glee as Christina's eyes took on a rather confused, frightened tint, before she hugged Narcissa, finishing whatever she as saying. Narcissa replied out of habit, not really sure of what was coming out of her own mouth.

Christina expected her to be jealous and spiteful, possibly even a tad bit scared. Why? Because Narcissa knew she had been second best for Lucius, that he, her own husband had never really loved her and instead took delight in Christina, always had and always would. She was supposed to jealous and scared because now Christina was back and she would be manhandling Lucius anyway she wanted with or without Narcissa there. And that Christina could now take way her _picture perfect _life.

But none of that was the case.

Anyone that knew her knew it wasn't.

If anything she should be angry. Angry that Christina just had to be foolish and get herself thrown into prison. Angry that Christina had left Narcissa the perfect opening to marry Lucius. Left Narcissa no hope, no chance of life.

Christina wanted him! She could have him. She could take him.

I should be angry.

But it was about 16 years too late for anger.

* * *

**_Draco_**

Draco heard the two taps on the door before it swung open. He glanced next to him at Granger (he had fully given up on calling her Delavontá in his mind after last night; it took too much energy). She looked calm yet actually rather sick when he thought about it. He could most definitely tell she was scared though. Her entire body had a slight shake to it and her eyes that were usually so full emotion looked rather void and empty. Draco shook his head slightly. _'Her eyes that were usually so full of emotion!'_ He had to stop this 'knowing creepy things about Granger' issue. Draco focused his attention back to the woman in question. He couldn't really see her from behind his parents, even though he was almost taller than them. His father leaned forward a bit, most likely kissing her hand. _Come on old man. Straighten up, let go._ Lucius finally stood all the way up. Draco scowled at him. His posture, his demeanor, his tone of voice screamed flirting bastard. Even if he hadn't known his father his whole life he would have know this. Draco continued scowling at Lucius, furious. How could he act like this with his own family, and even Granger in the room. I mean it was usual for woman to flirt and throw themselves at Lucius, but he was a married man, he was **not** supposed to respond.

The woman then moved on to his mother. Draco stared at the back of his mother's head, willing her to do something, say anything for once. Draco knew Narcissa felt his eyes boring into her, but she still did nothing. Draco saw the woman pause abruptly as she went to hug her. It was just a second or so, but it was enough. Draco focused on his mother again, concern washing over his features. Was something wrong with his mother? What was everyone seeing that he didn't? All at once a feeling of guilt washed over him. How could he have been so blind? He was her son, he was supposed to see things like this. He was supposed to _know_. He had been so wrapped up in his own stupid problems, his own stupid life, that he had forgotten his own mother. Guilt was soon replaced by anger, loathing. _He_ had done this. His own father. He was finally killing her. Somehow, some way he would pay. He wouldn't get away with it this time.

Draco saw his mother step aside and heard his father introducing him. It was time to meet her. The dirty little tramp that was trying to take his father; the Death Eater that was almost his parent; the woman who-

Oh. My. Goodness.

If Malfoys ever showed awe, this would have been the perfect time to do so.

But of course they didn't so he would have to settle for a small demonic smile.

And for a split second Draco Malfoy believed he was seeing a goddess.

He had expected some relatively old woman that may have been pretty (that or slutty) at one time. He had expected a person with glazed-over and haunted eyes with some sort of ghostly air around her from being in Azkaban for so long. He had expected some power hungry, crazed, violent, cat-woman, Death Eater.

He had at least expected wild hair.

Draco's eyes gleamed wickedly as he saw the woman raise her eyebrows at him in a rather impressed manner. Draco smiled.

_Yes, I know, I know, I **am** gorgeous. But then again so are you._

Draco looked her up and down 'admiring the view'. Subtly, yes, but he knew she got the message. Draco reached down to kiss her hand, smirking a bit,. The kiss was not too long (unlike his good for nothing father's) or too short, but for a kiss only on the hand it was suggestive enough. Draco let go of her hand, straightening, and cast a quick glance of at Granger, looking her up and down in the same manner. _How could **she** have possibly come out of that marvelous thing. _Granger, catching his message, glared at him fiercely. _Oh, feisty._ Draco returned his attention in time to hear the woman say to call her Christina. Draco smiled, loving this part. The part where he got to say the girl's name and make them swoon by the sheer sound of his voice and their name on his lips. _It always works_.

Draco, again subtly, winked slowly at Christina. You had to look closely to see it, but he knew she had caught it by the way her eyes gleamed even more sinfully, before she moved on to Granger. _Mmm, mmm, good._

Draco turned slightly looking at Granger and Christina. He'd never seen Granger so flustered before, much less at a loss for words. Draco remembered the question he had thought of before about Granger actually having inherited some genes from Christina/beauty goddess of the world. He looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to catch some resemblance. Christina's hair was black and glossy and fell in soft waves. Granger's hair was about the same length, but was more of a dark chocolate color. Then of course there was the customary b-. Draco paused in mid-thought. He was going to say that there was the customary wild bushiness that that had adorned her hair since 1st year, but with much alarm, Draco realized that there wasn't. Granger's hair fell in soft waves much like her mothers, just a bit curlier. Intrigued, Draco looked over her further and more closely than he had done in the past few weeks or year to be exact. And with even more shock and awe (which he didn't show of course) Draco realized Granger had grown from an average little annoying girl to a very… a very- _different_ kind of… girl, or erm… wo- _person_.

Her body was slim and curvy like Christina's and they even both stood in the same manner. Draco stared further, eagerly taking in the little things that were suddenly clear to him. Almost everything in some way resembled her mother's. The only major difference between Granger and her mother were their eyes. Christina had dark brown eyes that seemed pure black even when you were up close, but while Granger's eyes were also brown they were a lighter more hazel color. Draco stood stock-still, awed at these new realizations and with one thought running through his mind. Hermione Granger was going to grow-up to look like that beautiful woman in front of her. Hell, who was he kidding, she was already halfway there.

Draco realized he had been steadily staring at Granger instead of listening to what his father was saying. It was something along the lines of Christina and Granger going to the library to catch up on things. Lucius motioned for a house elf to show them the way and left, Narcissa behind him. Draco bid farewell to the pair and also walked out, going down the halls to his room. _The library huh?_ Draco smirked.

_Perfect_.

* * *

**_Hermione_**

Hermione had thought about this moment for hours. What it would be like. What _she_ would be like. What she would say. How she would act. It had been the only thing on her mind. Yet now, all the planned speeches in the world couldn't seem to help her. Hermione felt the sweat on the back of her neck form as she tried not to fidget. What the hell was she doing here?

She didn't belong here. She was standing in a room full of people that as little as two days ago hated her, who probably _still_ hated her… awaiting the woman that had single handily turned her life upside down. Hermione felt her stomach drop as she heard the sound of the Malfoy's doorbell ring and the distant sound of a door opening. She wanted to glance frantically around the room, like a frightened, cornered, puppy, but instead she forced her eyes to stayed glued to the door. She had to ready. She had to prepared. She was always supposed to be prepared. Hermione shook her head as she heard the two taps on the door and saw the doorknob beginning to turn. Her heart beat faster as her mind stared to race in disbelief.

Gosh it was like flying class all over again. There's no textbook. There's no textbook on 'How to Meet Your Mother'. Hermione saw the door open and could hear a woman's voice, but couldn't see fully over Lucius and Narcissa.

Damn her shortness.

Hermione willed herself to calm down and tried to focus on what was being said and the woman's voice. You could tell a lot from a person's voice most of the time, you just had to listen. Hermione was good at reading people; she liked to observe. Hermione could tell she wouldn't like this woman, and she hadn't even met her properly. She knew she wouldn't, but she wouldn't admit it, no not yet. Hermione was also a very adamant optimistic. Hermione withdrew her attention from the woman, when she saw her, she saw her. Hermione instead looked at Malfoy. She had felt his intense glare even from where she was standing. For once though it was not directed at her, but his father. Hermione a tinge of sympathy go out to him. She had heard how Lucius, and her 'mother' were acting just fine. How would she feel if her father had been flirting with some other woman right in front of her, her mother, _and_ one of her hated enemies. Hermione resisted the urge to shake her head piteously. Draco's gaze turned to his mother. Hermione had seen enough daytime soap operas and episodes of 'Cheaters' to know what was suppose to happen next. Normally Narcissa was suppose to get all huffy at this little trashy tramp that was trying to steal her husband, Christina returning with some witty sarcastic comment, things eventually erupting into an all out catfight. But Hermione knew this wouldn't happen, she had seen it in Narcissa's eyes the last time she'd seen her. Hermione looked back at Malfoy whose glare had transformed into a cloudy, confused look. Christina had paused slightly in shock when she saw Narcissa. Maybe Malfoy was finally seeing. But Hermione thought he already "knew" judging by his answer when she asked him about it. But perhaps it was worse that he had thought before.

Hermione had realized that not everybody was so easily read. Harry was one of them at times. Malfoy was another. But I suppose being taught to be impassive since you were a little boy would probably making hiding things very easy. There was a saying that said that a person's eyes were the windows to their soul. Years of getting to know people had shown Hermione this was true. You can hide your sadness with a smile, you can change you body language to say what you wish, but your eyes, your eyes were the hardest to alter. Through our eyes we show our deepest emotions, though people rarely tended to look. Hermione knew that if she stared into Malfoy's eyes long enough she would see flits of emotions, tiny bits of feeling poking through, shadows or ghosts of something from his soul.

But it's not very often that someone got to look deep into Draco Malfoy's eyes.

But then again, Hermione resisted the urge to shudder, who would want to?

Malfoy's voice cut through her thoughts. Hermione watched the two out of the corners of her eyes. She could tell the woman was tall with dark wavy hair and that she must be very beautiful, judging by the way Malfoy was acting.

_Is he… **flirting** with her!_ _Oh, ew, ew, ew._

Hermione felt the strong need to gag. That was disgusting. She was old enough to be his mother, hell the woman **was** Hermione's mother. Hermione felt a twinge of something in her stomach, not jealousy mind you, just, well something else; that 'he-could-do-so-much-better' feeling. Hermione shook her head slightly. Why did she care anyway? Hermione saw Draco give her a suggestive glance as he rose from his bow. Hermione scowled slightly, but mostly put her anger in her eyes.

Like most people that were hard to read, Malfoy was also very good at reading other people (probably even more capable than Hermione). And again, this meant that he was also unusually good at getting his message across with having to use words. Hermione had caught his message just fine. He was wondering how 'know-it-all' bookworm, ugly, beaver-teethed, bushy-haired Hermione Granger could have possibly be related to the gorgeous woman in front of him. _Well-_

Hermione was caught off guard as heard her name being said. Lucius was introducing the woman… her mother to herself. Hermione realized the woman was right in front of her. Her… mother. She certainly was beautiful, and if Hermione said so herself she looked nothing like her. Hermione paused. What had she been expecting? Huge fireworks, Unforgivable curses to be thrown, Lord Voldemort to jump out from behind her cloak, the world to blow up into tiny little pieces! Hermione paused again. _Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap, I'm supposed to say something. What is it? H-, Hi-, He-_

"Hello," Hermione said, happily noting that there was only a slight tremor in her voice.

It was in that moment Hermione fully realized how short the word 'Hello' really was. Where were her perfect words? Where were her carefully planned speeches?

Hermione fought her brain for something else to say, but it was like quicksand and all her thinking capabilities were slowly shutting down. And then there was that rather annoying and distracting way Malfoy was looking her, and occasionally her mother, up and down. But she didn't even have the competence to analyze that right now. Finally, the woman (Hermione guessed she had given up waiting) said hello. And after a slight paused, "Hermione". Hermione gave a weak smile at this _kind_? gesture. But in actuality her name on 'her mother's' lips sounded even worse than when Lucius said it. Not nearly sinister sounding, but somehow even more deadly.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted one more by Lucius, this time suggesting that they 'catch up' with one another in the library. _Oh great, now she can kill me in private._

* * *

Hermione and Christina walked down the hallway in silence toward the library. Hermione glanced at her once or twice, trying to figure out if she should say something. Christina however, did not seem as keen on conversation. Instead, she kept her head high and her eyes straightforward, unwavering. Her strides were swift and purposeful, almost so that Hermione had to catch up every couple of steps. When they reached the library, the house elf pushed the door open and Hermione and Christina walked in. Hermione paused in amazement at the sight of the Malfoy Library. Rows and rows of books lined the room; chairs and lamps were stationed throughout and a huge fireplace was in the front of the room. Christina sat in one of the squishy black leather armchairs that eerily resembled the ones in the room where Malfoy had gone in his 'dream'. Hermione shuddered at the very thought of that dreadful night in the closet. _Oh, and the pain, that awful pain…_

Hermione refocused on Christina, who was now motioning for her to seat herself in the opposite chair. The house elf then bowed to the both of them.

"Would you be requiring anything else misses?"

"No, that is all," Christina replied curtly. The house elf nodded.

"Yes miss," he said quietly before bowing once more and scurrying out, closing the door with what sounded to Hermione like a deafening thud, a dangerous warning, a death sentence.

* * *

Christina leaned forward a bit, her eyes burning with intensity. Hermione tried not to gulp. 

"Now," she began, knowing she had caught Hermione's attention, "I'll get straight to the point." She leaned back in the chair, more relaxed, yet her eyes still burned with the same intensity, her face unreadable.

"I want to know about you. Everything about you. In the short space between my time at the Manor and the time in which we have met I have found out very little about you. But what I do know I would still like to hear about. From you. We will catch-up, do things together, etc., later. We have plenty of time for that, but for now I would like to do this." Hermione nodded, now also more relaxed, but still slightly wary. It seemed quite reasonable to her.

"Now," Christina continued. "I know you go to Hogwarts obviously, but what house are you in." Hermione's breath caught in her throat. This lady didn't waste anytime. The one question she had been hoping to come up just had to be the first question she asked. Hermione cleared her throat. She was a Gryffindor and a proud one too and she would tell this lady so. Gathering her everlasting Gryffindor courage, she looked Christina straight in the eyes.

"Gryffindor." There was a pause then, Christina simply nodded. Hermione released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Then she almost frowned. That was it? No prejudiced pureblooded induced temper-tantrum? Hermione's forehead creased a bit, worried. Christina, however, went right on.

"Friends?" This had been the other question Hermione hadn't really wanted to answer, probably even more than the last one. The woman was a Death Eater for goodness sake, was she just suppose to say 'oh guess what, your newfound daughter is best friends with the very person your Lord is trying to kill, Harry Potter'. But then again, she_ was_friends with **Harry Potter**, Christina was bound to find out soon enough if she didn't already know. Hermione took a deep breath once again gathering her _everlasting_ Gryffindor courage. However, her supply seemed to be dwindling and her hard, no-nonsense stare she was giving Christina didn't seem to be going according to plan.

"Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." Hermione eyes broke from Christina's and instead wandered over to the intricately designed fireplace rug in front of the Malfoys' hearth. A feeling of dread slowly came to her, growing as the silence lengthened. This was it; Christina was surely going to kill her now. That or put her under some Unforgivable or otherwise illegal, painful curse. Hermione wondered why Christina wasn't saying anything. Perhaps she was getting out her wand and already had it pointed at Hermione's horribly exposed head. Hermione unconsciously closed her eyes, waiting, then paused. What in the world was the matter with her, she was _not_ going to _die._ Hermione felt slightly frustrated and she heard Christina let out an irritated sigh. Where was all her precious Gryffindor courage?

"Hermione." Her Gryffindor courage had not gone anywhere. It was right here where it always was. She was a Gryffindor! The best Gryffindor there ever was! And she was going to fight for her life damn it! Hermione raised her head up quickly, her face flushed and red, ready to deflect anything that woman was going to come at her with.

"Yes," Hermione replied coldly sitting straight up, her eyes looked with Christina's. She watched Christina pause in almost a momentary grimace.

"Listen Hermione, there are going to be some things that are going to be," Christina paused again, "awkward to talk about. But quite frankly, so you're a Gryffindor, so you're best friends with Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." Christina, Hermione noted, didn't even flinch when saying this. "But we'll discuss all of this later. Right now I just want answers." Christina opened her mouth as if to say more but then decided against it. "So can we continue?" Hermione stared at her blankly then slowly nodded. She leaned back in the armchair, her adrenaline rushing out of her. Christina gave a small smile (which couldn't really constitute as a smile, merely an upturned motion of her lips). "Good. Now about your school work-"

* * *

Christina Delavontá was one of _those_ people. Then again most purebloods were. Hermione would definitely have to add her to her list. 

Her list of 'people that were hard to read, yet very good at reading other people, but still able to be read when they wanted to', of course. So far Hermione had the whole Malfoy family and now Christina on her list...

What? She had only started it about 2 seconds ago.

The little sit-down questionnaire with Christina hadn't gone as bad after the Gryffindor and friends fiasco. Christina fired off questions, Hermione answered. Question, answer, question, answer. But it wasn't as boring as it could have been. In fact, it was rather like an interview. Christina didn't even have to say anything when it was over, it just was. It reminded her of Dumbledore or Snape. With a mere glance they could convey an entire sentence or when a conversation was over, when you were dismissed, when you were going too far. Hermione made a small chuckle, it was almost mother-like. This thought made Hermione turn somber. _Her mother. Her parents._ Hermione willed the tears at the back of her eyes away.

_It's only for a bit-_ She noticed that Christina was rising from her armchair. Hermione looked over at her expectantly as she stood near the fireplace. Christina turned away from her for a moment, staring into the non-existent flames. Then she turned, staring straight at Hermione, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"As you have probably heard from people aware of your new _situation_, your life now will be very different then before."

_Obviously_. If Hermione had not been a more ladylike person and well, been in the presence of a recently let out of Azkaban prisoner, who happened to be a crazy pureblood, Hermione probably would have snorted.

"There are certain things that, just aren't permissible in this society. There are many different- I won't call them rules, simply _understandings,_ that are apart of this- _your_ new world. Now most have learned these things since they were young children. Some caught on quicker than others, but by now all of this is like breathing air to them. You, however, have been raised in an entirely," Christina's mouth twisted and she turned slightly back to the fireplace, "_different_ situation. But from what I have learned and seen, I do believe you will learn fairly quickly." Christina whirled back around to face Hermione. "You will have to. You see _Hermione_," Christina crept closer to her, "You now hold the Delavontá name. It will bring a great honor to you but-" Christina stood directly in front of Hermione, practically towering over her, "you **must** also bring honor to it."

Hermione noted that she did seem awfully like Snape, the way she could capture one's attention in a sheer glance, make you hang on to every word she said, crave to know, to learn, to please. Christina began to pace round. "You are of a higher class now Hermione. You are a pureblood." Hermione thought it best not to point out that she was not in fact a pureblood, for Christina had after all slept with a muggle. "Poise," Christina started, "grace, eloquence, academic lesions, physical lessons, marriage, status, standing, etiquette, friends, emotions… loyalties. We shall cover them all and more." Hermione frowned slightly. _Loyalties? What does she think she means by loyalties?_

"Pardon me, Ms. Delavontá-" Hermione started. Christina twisted, looking at Hermione again.

"And that's another thing," Christina stood in front of her own armchair. "You are not a child, Hermione, but you are still young. Respect," Christina spat, "is the number one thing you will learn. It will be a lesson learned hard and fast," she paused leaving the kind of silence that meant '_or else'_. "As a part of this life, respect is what determines everything. Lack of it will not be taken… kindly." Christina took a deep breath. "But you shall learn it shall you not?"

"Of course Ms. Delavontá," Hermione said quietly, already feeling the room turning colder. Hermione had not felt safe before, but now it was more than just mere imaginings. It felt- Christina interrupted her thoughts.

"And then there's that." The sound of her voice made a shiver run down Hermione's spine. Christina's dark eyes were still glittering dangerously. They were not the benevolent twinkle of Albus Dumbledore's eyes, but a darker, colder, harder glint that was ever constant. "You are a Delavontá, Hermione. You will always be and always **have** been. Remember that. And therefore, there will be no more of this 'Ms. Delavontá' business. I am your mother and you will address me as so." Christina stopped, looking at Hermione. Hermione realized that she wanted her to reply, to call her mother. A gut wrenching feeling went through Hermione's body. She couldn't just call her mother… because… because she _wasn't_. Her mother was the woman with the short brown hair, that had woken her up in the morning every day 'til she was eleven. Her mother was the woman who held her every summer night after a nightmare. Her mother was the person that listened to her problems and stories with rapture and a helpful word. Her mother cared for her. Her mother _loved_ her.

Calling this women that simply gave birth to her, this woman who stood for everything that she was against, this murdering Death Eater, this person who did not care for her and undoubtedly did not love her, calling her mother was like breaking a sacred code. It may have just been a word, but it had more meaning to Hermione than Christina could possibly imagine.

She would not let this lingering fear be held over her anymore. She wouldn't give in. For her mother.

Hermione forced the trembles that she didn't even know she had away.

"I'm sorry… but I can't-" Christina stood stock-still, her eyes staring at Hermione, yet looking straight through her.

"I didn't ask you what you could or couldn't do. I told you, you will address me as mother." Her voice was light and airy, like Trelawney but without the frivolousness of it. It was like an eerily still ocean, as it is right before the perfect storm hits.

"I-" Hermione started. "You- It- Well-"

"Never stammer. Eloquence, Hermione. You should be fluent at all times." The room grew colder and Hermione imagined the ash in the fireplace began to stir slightly. "Now answer me," she said, her voice sounding just as before, but boring a hint of an edge.

But Hermione couldn't and she wasn't sure she ever would.

"No," she whispered.

As black fire seemed to pour out of Christina's eyes, Hermione realized that her little whisper, had been the puff of wind that had finally knocked down the fragile house of cards that was Christina Delavontá's patience.

* * *

Draco had decided that Malfoys didn't belong on floors. It was undignified, unsanitary, and rather uncomfortable. Draco also decided that he had too many clothes. Scratch that, he just needed a bigger closet. 

Draco grumbled, shifting around a bit, trying to get into a better position.

You may ask why exactly the great Draco Malfoy was talking being on floors, bigger closets, and trying to get into better positions. Well it just so happened that Draco was lying in a rather cramped nook on his closet floor.

* * *

Draco's closet was his sanctuary. 

It was a bit weird place for a sanctuary, but alas, it was. It had been since he was little boy. Whenever something happened or when he was scared or particularly sad, he would go and find a corner in his closet and curl up in a ball. Even now when he came home in the summers it was still his only place to feel safe.

Draco's closet was fairly big (actually the correct word would be obscenely gigantic). However it wasn't the normal perfect square/rectangle. Hidden nooks and crannies were all over the magical room. By the time he was 5 he had found them all. The last one had been the hardest one to find, but if was by far the best. He wasn't even sure if his father knew of it.

_The day he had found it had been particularly bad. It was at night and his father had been away all day. He came back in a rather foul mood, escalating quickly to a full-blown argument between him and his mother. It wasn't unusual, but little Draco could sense, something worse, darker about the atmosphere. Slightly whimpering Draco retreated to the darkest part of this closet, falling asleep._

_Waking a few hours later, Draco lay on the floor (it was not nearly as uncomfortable back then) absentmindedly picking at the wall wondering if the yelling was over yet. And at the exact moment he touched the tiny corner where the two walls and floor met, he could have sworn he felt a shudder. Intrigued, Draco continued to push on the small corner and to his amazement the wall did shudder and with each passing second the shuddering turned more violent. Now thoroughly frightened, Draco hastily removed his finger, only to find, to his increasing alarm, the wall and floor continued to shake. Then, with one final violent shudder it stopped. Draco watched it warily for a moment, until it started to move again. It was no more the violent shaking of before, but rather a slow procession backwards. Draco watched in rapture as a portion of the two walls and floor moved diagonally down to a seemingly empty black abyss. The perfectly cube opening was a bit bigger than Draco himself. The portion of the walls and floor hovered in the darkness somewhere in the newfound passage._

_Draco, like most little boys, was very curious. However, unlike most children his age, he also knew the value of looking before you leapt. Draco looked around his closet picking up one of his older (but still very expensive) shoes and tossing it into the hole. He watched as the shoe landed a ways into the abyss, near the portion of the wall that had moved. Draco grinned scrambling for his wand, curiosity taking over him. He poked the space with his wand and heard nothing but air. Crawling into the space, Draco found that it was pitch black. Draco gulped. Small spaces didn't really bother him, but combined with darkness so black you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face, was a bit unnerving for anyone. And, being only 5, Draco hadn't quite mastered, Lumos._

_Trying to stand, Draco realized that he could not for the top of the space stopped a little over his head. With one hand waving in front of him and one remaining on the ceiling Draco proceeded. He wasn't sure where he was going. The path kept on twisting and turning, Draco wondered if perhaps it had turned upside down at one point. He wasn't sure how far he had gone, not even how long he'd been gone. Then, the small tunnel ceiling abruptly disappeared as Draco crawled, causing him to stumble a bit. Frowning, Draco waved his arms around some more, crawling a few more feet… and abruptly ran into something very hard. Startled, Draco sat back clutching his throbbing head only to be further blinded by a sudden light. Draco fell all the way back and curled into a ball, whimpering in a very un-Malfoy like manner. After a few seconds the pain receded. Blinking rapidly, Draco began to open his eyes. Looking around him he realized that the ceiling had not 'disappeared', he simply had stumbled upon a new, bigger room. The blinding light was in fact a torch that had blazed to life and had been very close to singeing his perfectly shaped eyebrows. Draco peered over his shoulder at the foreboding dark tunnel that he had not so long ago crawled out of. The room, including the tunnel, was made of a dark marble. Along the walls there were several now lit torches that brightened the hall slightly, while also throwing eerie shadows along the walls. Draco walked back and forth throughout the spaces, exploring. There were some hidden niches and rooms; quite frankly it would be lucky if he could find his way back to the tunnel entrance. Draco peered into the last nook before deciding to leave._

_He wasn't sure how long he had been gone. Things might have died down by now. His parents might actually decide to come looking for him. Draco sighed turning around, then stopped short. He had heard a scraping sound. Draco's heart stopped. Had his father found the passageway? Was he coming down for him right now! Draco turned back around and heard the scraping noise again. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was making the noise. Draco got on his knees and found himself once again on the floor looking curiously at the ground. It appeared that one of the tiles had moved. Half of it had disappeared straight into the other tile. There seemed to be some kind of picture underneath. Draco reached down and pulled at the tile. The entire tile disappeared. Intrigued, Draco began to pull at more tiles. One by one the tiles pulled back until he had about a square foot hole. Or what should have been a hole. Instead, Draco saw a picture of a room. In fact, it looked like the very own Malfoy Manor Library. Slowly the young Malfoy reached out to touch the picture and instead found that his hand went straight through. Gasping, Draco yanked his hand back. Then again, this time with more courage, Draco lowered his hand, then his head through the whole space. He didn't know how it was possible, but somehow even though he was lying on the ground, he was sticking his head through the side of the library wall. Draco looked around in wonder. A real secret passageway. Draco grinned with glee._

_Suddenly the doorknob to the library twisted and opened. Draco's eyes widened and he pulled his head back through as his father walked through the door. Holding his breath, Draco waited for the yelling to come as he watched as Lucius walked by the wall and… sat down? Draco frowned as Lucius took out a paper and began reading. Could he not see him? Lucius looked up for a moment, his eyes sweeping over Draco and the space in the wall as if it wasn't there. Draco grinned again settling down to watch his father._

_Perfect._

* * *

Draco grumbled finally shifting through his closet and reaching the small corner which was the entrance to the secret passageway. Crawling through the hole he made his way through the dark tunnel, the torch-lit hall, and finally once again on the floor looking through at the library. He still retained his decision about Malfoys not belonging on floors. But for the sake of… well lets just say for the sake of his sanity Draco would put up with it for a bit to watch Granger and Christina. Draco waited until Christina had walked in, Hermione trailing a bit behind her. He saw Granger's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the Malfoy library. 

_Ah yes, bookworm heaven._

They both sat down in the armchairs and Draco also brought his face down further, trying to hear as much a possible.

What would happen? Crying and meltdowns, uncomfortable silences, or even perhaps painful curses and death? Draco felt a slight twinge at that last possibility. But even he knew it was a very good possibility. Draco saw Granger flinch as the house elf left and shut the door. This was it. She was stuck now.

* * *

Draco was lying in the same position as before with his head in his hands. How could someone ask _so many_ questions! Draco was surprised and perhaps even a bit disappointed when he heard that all Christina wanted to do was ask her questions. Draco already knew all about Granger. Well, not _everything_. And there were some rather good parts. He smirked. He had finally confirmed that Granger was a virgin. He also found out that this Delavontá woman sure had a lot of patience for a rich, pureblood, Death Eater that was also formally a 16-year Azkaban prisoner. Maybe she was too tired or something. Draco, however, was on the edge of his seat (figuratively, of course seeing how he was laying down and certainly wasn't on a seat) each time Christina came close to snapping. And the worst part was Granger didn't even realize it. Draco would have gotten hexed into obliteration at least 5 times in the first half hour alone if he had been with his father. Draco sighed, seeing that the horrid interview was finally over. Granger looked pleased with herself. Draco smirked. 

_You know for someone who's life is in constant danger, Granger sure is naive about certain things. Stupid girl. I mean she's best friends with Harry "I-kill-everybody-around-me" Potter, for merlin's sake. Every single year she practically gets herself murdered along with Pothead and the sidekick but somehow the whole, 'the world isn't so peachy anymore' concept hasn't clicked. Granger still has to have that damn foolish naivety about the world and everybody in it. Probably the same foolish naivety that's sure to get her killed before the end of the war if she isn't careful. _Draco refocused on the duo wondering what they were going to do now. Christina was currently giving Granger a brief rundown of purebloodiness and being a Delavontá, subtly pointing out everything Granger had done wrong during the interview. Draco had gotten these kinds of talks one too many times with his father. Granger looked scared out of her wits. _And she should be._ Draco winced as he heard Hermione speak without being spoken to, which was practically considered a blatant interruption and a slap in the face in the pureblood world. It was the word 'loyalties' that caught her attention. Draco knew that phrase had made her stop and finally begin to think.

If Draco had done something like that when he was little, let alone Grangers age, he would have been hexed so heavily with the first dark curse to fly from his father's lips that he probably wouldn't be able to stand for a week. Not that they wouldn't make him.

Draco watched as the conversation went from bad to worse. And then it happened.

Draco knew Granger calling Christina, 'Ms. Delavontá', was going to become a problem. Eventually Christina would insist that she call her mother. How would it look if they were out in public with the other pureblood families and Hermione called her 'Ms. Delavontá'? It was a sign of disrespect, insubordination.

Draco just didn't expect for the issue to come up so soon. He held his breath as he saw Hermione hesitate and then her eyes harden.

"I'm sorry… but I can't-"

That was it. She was dead. It was only a matter of time before the screams of absolute agony started. But Draco heard Christina speak again. She was giving her a second chance. Draco continued to hold his breath as Christina stopped talking and looked at Hermione. The girl began to stammer incoherently.

_Just say the word Granger. Do it!_ Christina began to reprimand her once more. Draco would have been dead twice over by now. He should have known her stupid ideals were going to get her into trouble more sooner than later.

"No."

Draco's breath ran out of him as he felt his stomach plummet as she uttered that one simple word. He tried to desperately pull back more tiles even as his head spun with dizziness from seeing the pure fear that shone in her eyes. He felt his own blood run cold at the sight of Christina Delavontá raising her wand, pointing it straight at her daughter.

* * *

"What did you say to me!" Christina's voice was no longer the sound of a still ocean before the perfect storm, now it was the storm, angry and violent, dangerous and deadly, destroying whatever was in her path… and right now that was Hermione. 

Hermione's vocal cords seemed to have permanently shut down. A large lump formed in her throat as she tried to swallow in vain. Small sweat drops began to form on her forehead. Her ever running mind seemed to be stuck in a limbo.

She concentrated on breathing as she watched Christina's eyes continue to flame.

"You insolent little wench. Apparently you're less intelligent than I thought. I never imagined you'd be this much trouble already. Let's get one thing straight. You will not belittle me, I am not one of those friends of yours. No one, ever, talks to me that way, unless they too wish to be taught a very big lesson. **You** are no exception."

Hermione's heart began to race at an almost inhuman speed as she felt the claws of foreboding closing in around her. Then she realized that it wasn't just metaphorical claws she was feeling around her neck, it was real ones. Hermione's eyes widened with panic as she vainly tried to gasp for more air. Jumping up from her seat in the armchair Hermione shook her wand from its sleeve-holder and raised it in her badly shaking hand. That was until another discovery caused her to drop it to the floor.

Hermione had jumped up from her chair… but her feet had never hit the ground. Her legs were dangling a few feet off the floor and her entire body was steadily rising higher. The pressure around her neck was getting stronger as she rose. She stared into Christina's fiery black eyes as the woman looked at her impassively.

"You are a Delavontá." All thoughts fled from her head as the pressure became unbearable. Hermione couldn't breath.

"I am your mother. You will learn respect for your betters." Hermione was now clawing madly at the force around her neck, her legs thrashing violently. She couldn't breath.

"You will learn."

Christina's voice seemed to slow as darkness threatened the edges of Hermione's vision. Her ears were roaring and she thought she might have heard a slight shriek before her eyes rolled back into her head and unconsciousness took over.

**

* * *

**_Pull, pull, pull._ More and more tiles disappeared as Draco made the opening to the library wider. He didn't know how many tiles could go back, he had never tried pulling back so many. Draco just hoped it'd be enough for him to get through. Draco looked down at the scene before him and began to move even faster as he noticed Christina stop talking. _Just a bit more._ Draco glanced again, looking with awed horror at Hermione clawing her neck and thrashing wildly, just a few feet from the ceiling. Draco moved the last tile and flung himself out the hole, his heart beating rapidly as out the corner of his eye he saw Hermione's movements finally begin to slow. Draco landed directly on his target, Christina Delavontá. With a small shriek she tumbled to the ground, Draco landing next to her. However, they were not the only things that were tumbling to the ground. Hermione, her body limp, was falling like a rag doll from the sky. Draco watched her increasingly fast descent, his mind racing, before pulling out his wand and pointing at the armchair.  
"_Engorgio!_" he shouted and the black armchair began to grow just in time to catch Hermione. Draco winced, running over to her as he saw her hit the leather seat. The armchair wasn't much, but it was better than the glossy hardwood floors. It would at least save her a couple of broken bones, that is, Draco pulled Hermione to the floor and scooted behind the armchair, if she wasn't already dead. It was in that moment, with Draco kneeling behind an armchair in his library with Hermione Granger's head in his lap, _and_ a violent yet incredibly gorgeous Death Eater in the room that he had just _jumped on_ that Draco wondered for the first time… '_What the hell am I doing!_'. More and more tiles disappeared as Draco made the opening to the library wider. He didn't know how many tiles could go back, he had never tried pulling back so many. Draco just hoped it'd be enough for him to get through. Draco looked down at the scene before him and began to move even faster as he noticed Christina stop talking. Draco glanced again, looking with awed horror at Hermione clawing her neck and thrashing wildly, just a few feet from the ceiling. Draco moved the last tile and flung himself out the hole, his heart beating rapidly as out the corner of his eye he saw Hermione's movements finally begin to slow. Draco landed directly on his target, Christina Delavontá. With a small shriek she tumbled to the ground, Draco landing next to her. However, they were not the only things that were tumbling to the ground. Hermione, her body limp, was falling like a rag doll from the sky. Draco watched her increasingly fast descent, his mind racing, before pulling out his wand and pointing at the armchair."" he shouted and the black armchair began to grow just in time to catch Hermione. Draco winced, running over to her as he saw her hit the leather seat. The armchair wasn't much, but it was better than the glossy hardwood floors. It would at least save her a couple of broken bones, that is, Draco pulled Hermione to the floor and scooted behind the armchair, if she wasn't already dead. It was in that moment, with Draco kneeling behind an armchair in his library with Hermione Granger's head in his lap, a violent yet incredibly gorgeous Death Eater in the room that he had just that Draco wondered for the first time… ''. 

He felt as though he had plunged into ice-cold water as realization dawned on him.

He was stuck.

He had lost his head for two seconds and… and now it was 'kill or be killed'. Groaning with frustration Draco looked down at Granger's face, which was pale, all blood drained from it. Draco pointed his wand at her.

"_Ennervate!_" Granger's eyes fluttered open and a slow, small smile graced her lips as she gazed steadily into his eyes. Draco watched, enraptured, until a slight 'hmph' from the other side of armchair shook him out of it. "Snap out of it Delavontá," he whispered harshly, roughly shaking her. Granger frowned sitting up, trying to grasp her surroundings. Draco tried not to groan again. They didn't have time for this, didn't she remember there was a crazed Death Eater on the other side of the chair trying to kill them! "Come on," he whispered, grabbing her arm. Draco peered around the corner of the armchair and realized with growing frustration that Christina had gotten up and was now daintily brushing non-existent dust from the sleeves of her robes. Draco pointed at the armchair. "_Mobilisedes_." As the chair gave off violent lurch toward Christina, Draco dragged Hermione over to where he had jumped though. Pushing her he said, "Get up there." Hermione looked around frantically.

"Where?" she cried. Draco looked over his shoulder and realized with horror that Christina, instead of being knocked down once again by the moving armchair, she had lightly jumped over it and was now raising her wand at the pair. "Where?" Hermione repeated, looking at the wall, oblivious to the scene behind her.

"There!" Draco shouted as he picked her up and hoisted her about where the opening should have been. With a small shriek Hermione tumbled through.

Draco looked back at Christina to see her wand pointing straight at him.

"Don't move one _inch_." Draco breathed shallowly, watching her. "I for one," she began taking a few steps closer to him, "never expected this. If anyone, a _Malfoy_ should know not to interfere with matters that are none on their business. Especially in such _delicate_ business as this. Very _delicate_," she paused smirking, "rather like one's _life_, don't you think?" Draco's eyes widened as she raised her wand and said those fateful words. Green sparks flew out of her wand and landed a few feet in front of her, slightly burning the wood. "Oh for Merlin's sake," Christina said, giving an exasperated sigh.

In the fall, Christina's the wand had in fact cracked slightly and broken, leaving many precious ingredients for the wand on the floor. Draco, wasting no time, put his hand through the opening and began to lift himself up. "But no matter," Christina said from behind him. Draco's heart began to race at those words, and he tried to quicken his movements. Christina raised her arm and the sound of a metal on metal reached his ears. Instinctively, Draco looked over his shoulder, his eyes drawn to the two crossed swords that hung on the right wall. One of them had slid out from underneath other and was now was headed straight for Draco. Draco twisted to avoid its blade and scrambled the rest of the way through the opening, but not before the sword had left a thin cut across his stomach. Draco turned to fight off the sword again, but instead what he saw was the tiles replacing themselves at an inhuman speed. The image of an enraged Christina and the sound of a sword clanging to the ground was all he was aware of before the final tile slid into place.

* * *

Hermione winced as she banged her head against the tunnel ceiling again. Stopping, she felt the spot, wondering if it would form a lump. The figure in front of her stopped too and shined a light into her face. 

"Come on," he growled, then turned around and continued going. Hermione sighed once again dutifully following Draco Malfoy.

And for the millionth time since that fateful day at the portal Hermione wondered what the hell had happened to her life.

Hermione took another ragged breath trying to keep up with Malfoy. Her throat would definitely bruise; Hermione just hoped it wouldn't swell too much. She shook her head once again, remembering what exactly had gotten her in this situation. Her own so-called 'mother'. Her _mother_. Wasn't that suppose to mean anything? Hermione remembered the sheer panic that coursed through her body the moment she realized she couldn't breathe. That very second before she passed out that she honestly thought she was going to die. There was no flashes of her life, there was no bright light, all there was sheer panic, immeasurable fear, pure hopelessness. And then darkness; endless darkness, horrible darkness. And then… then she did see the light. At first she was sure she was dead. But she wasn't frightened. For she knew she _must_ be in heaven because there was the most beautiful angel above her…

Hermione resisted the urge to scoff as she looked at the blond in front of her. _Angel, indeed._ How delusional had she been.

But then again… he did save her life. Hermione had been trying to figure out _why_ since she had crawled into this damned tunnel, but she was no closer to an answer than before. He hated her; he's been in this 'pureblood life' long enough to know what kind of danger he was putting himself in. Why would he risk it, for her! Maybe it was his pride. Maybe he felt he had to repay her for the Cruciatus thing. Hermione shook her head. But that didn't seem like him at all. Hermione couldn't stand when she couldn't figure something out. But there seemed to be no answer. Hermione sighed. _Why!_

_But then again… it's not like he hasn't helped you before._ Hermione almost stopped again at the shock of that thought. But it was true.

Draco Malfoy was an enigma. First he saves her from being found/killed when she wandered into the forbidden hallway in his dream. Then she helps him with the Cruciatus. Then he practically chokes her the next day, in the Great Hall. Then she finds out that they have the same taste in cars. Then he almost attacks a house elf for no apparent reason. And then makes friends with her _muggle_ friends in the process embarrassing her thoroughly. Then… then he saves her from his father even though it was her own stupid fault. And… held her that night to protect her.. and now this.

But then again… she couldn't forget about how this all started… with the portal, with the room.

But then again… she didn't want to remember either. She didn't want to think the Malfoy in front of her actually had the person that was in the portal in him. She didn't want to think it was possible. She didn't want to think that she could have been wrong about him. That a completely different person existed in him. A person that cared. That-

A light shined in her face again, but his time it wasn't from Malfoy's wand. It was from his room.

"Come on," Malfoy growled, crawling out of the tunnel.

Hermione sighed once again dutifully following Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Christina Delavontá wanted to scream with frustration as she watched the wall close and the sword fall uselessly to the floor. They were 16 years old for goodness sake! Anger and annoyance swept through her body like a raging river of lava. She sighed. This wouldn't do. Sitting on the enlarged armchair Christina closed her eyes. _Deep breaths Christina, deep breaths._ Her anger and frustration slowly dissipated into a slight curiosity. Upon opening her eyes she glanced at the wall the Malfoy heir had disappeared in and out of- 

…_along with my daughter._

Slowly, Christina raised her hand, throwing some spells at the spot on the wall. Nothing happened.

_Hmmm, interesting. It seems as though that passage has taken a particular liking to young Mr. Malfoy. Ancient magic._ Christina frowned. _But it doesn't seem to be dark magic… but how could it be light?_

Christina couldn't decide either way. Shrugging, she decided she would probably go let Lucius know what had happened. But she wasn't in a hurry. She had faith in Lucius's ability to control his son. Those two weren't going _anywhere_.

Christina thought of the incredulity of it all. Her daughter had caught the eye of the Malfoy heir. She had thought seen something in the parlor, but now, after that daring 'rescue', Christina was sure of it… whether the two of them knew of it not. One does not commit such _selfless_ acts without reason. And to think that they had been sworn enemies just a week before.

Christina brows furrowed. But what had happened? Christina sighed, rubbing her head. It still hurt from that rather nasty fall that had occurred when Draco jumped on her. She would just have to figure out the answers to her questions another time. She probably should go talk to Lucius before those two got any more wise ideas. Christina smirked to herself walking down the hall.

Perhaps a Delavontá will become a part of the Malfoy line after all. But it's too bad the poor boy has to die… or at least be punished severely.

Christina thought that Lucius liked his heir a bit _too_ much to outright kill him.

Christina knocked on Lucius's study door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Lucius's enraged face met hers as she closed the door, but quickly turned into one of a rather smug calm. Lucius raised an eyebrow as Christina sauntered over to him, placing herself lightly on his lap and slowly running her hands though his hair.

"Tell me Lucius," she purred. "What kind of magic is the secret passage in the library?" She pouted. "And why can't I open it?" Lucius frowned slightly.

"What secret passage in the library?"

"Oh I don't know, the one next to some painting of a garden or something."

"_Le Jardin des Soleils_? There's no passageway near that area of the room." Christina's hands stopped moving though his hair abruptly.

"What do you mean 'there's no passageway'?" she said, her voice taking on a sharp edge. Lucius's frown deepened.

"I mean, There's. No. Passageway. What passage are you talking about?" Christina glared at him, lifting herself off his lap. She placed her hands on her hips.

"The passageway _your_ son and _my_ daughter just _escaped_ into."

* * *

Draco Malfoy was currently demolishing his room. 

_Where is it! The whole point is to be able to use it quickly!_

Granger was practically bouncing on his bed, freaking out. Every so often, she would shoot another locking spell at the door (Draco, the ever smart wizard, had grabbed her wand when pulled her behind the armchair). He had also given upon telling her the spells would do no good.

_Maybe… Yes! That's it!_ Draco moved to a different part of the room. Granger hopped off the bed and followed him, hovering over his shoulder.

"Malfoy what are you _doing_?" Draco ignored her. It had to be here, he knew it.

"Malfoy we don't have time for this, they'll be here any second." She started to glance around the room. "Are there anymore hidden passages in here, one that leads to the outside?"

"There are no passages to the outside of the Manor. There's one way in, one way out," he growled. _And where exactly did you expect to go even if there was?_

"That's ridiculous," Hermione cried, getting more and more hysterical with each passing second. "We have to get out of here. Maybe we can make a run for it!" Draco growled in frustration, ignoring her. "Malfoy! I don't think you're grasping this! We have to get in contact with someone, anyone! The Ministry, Aurors, Dumbledore!" Hermione paused to catch her breath. "Malfoy!" she shrieked, grabbing him by the shoulders and whirling him around. Draco stared straight at her, his eyes full of pure fury. Hermione's breath hitched and she took an involuntary step back.

"_You_ are the one not fully grasping this Granger," Draco said menacingly, his eyes still ablaze. "As much as you think you have _adjusted,_ you still have yet to realize you're not in your pretty little world anymore. You're in _this_ world. _Mine_. So grasp this Granger. There are **no** Aurors here. There is **no** Ministry. And there certainly is **no** _Dumbledore_. Have you grasped it yet Granger! There. Is. **No one!**" Hermione whimpered a bit, still looking at Draco with uncertainty.

"Let go of your precious reality, Granger. Because it doesn't exist here. _No one_ is coming to help you. There is _no one_ to save you. You've made a _very_ big mistake Granger. And here that doesn't happen too often and it's not taken lightly. They won't take pity on you because you didn't know how things worked. They wont 'let it slide' Granger. They won't be wary of hurting you because they're afraid of the consequences. You know why! Because there are none for them!" Draco stepped closer to her, his eyes alight and an almost feral sneer on his face. "You think _Slytherins_ are mean? You think _Snape_ is mean! You think **I'm** mean! You have **no** idea Granger! They will kill you!" Draco laughed cruelly.

"You'll be begging them to kill you. Begging them to _Avada Kedavra_ you." Draco smirked, a tinge of hysteria about him. "Surely you know Granger that there are much worse curses than the Unforgivables. That there are much more painful ways to die." Draco started to gather more speed, a crazed look in his eye. "You'll be lucky if they kill you first. Most people imagine death as a simple extinguishing of life. But what it really is, is the painstakingly cruel, slow pulling of life. A flash of green light it's just the easiest, quickest way. The more common way is torture for months until you finally have nothing left! Yes Granger, your own flesh and blood!" Draco stopped panting slightly. The crazed look in his eyes dissipated until they only held a rather dull, tired gaze. He glanced at the door, and as if hearing something, tensed up and turned his back again on Hermione. Hermione stared at him, still leaning against the side bedpost, her hand gripping it so tight that her knuckles had turned white. She breathed steadily, watching him continue searching, his pace, if even possible, a little faster.

"Well," Draco said softly, his voice hoarse. "Do you grasp it now Granger?" Hermione blinked, but instead of answering him she walked over and knelt next to where he was searching. Draco glanced at her, his eyes questioning.

"No. I don't grasp it. And I never will," she said, an edge of determination in her voice. Draco only nodded. "What does it look like?" she asked beginning to search along side him. Draco stared at her a second before going back to searching himself.

"Well it basically just looks like a ball. Its royal blue and made out of something like marble." Suddenly the room began to shudder. Draco ignored it, continuing to search. "They're here," he said simply. Hermione hands began to shake and she searched faster.

"Do we absolutely need this?" Hermione asked, still searching. Draco gave a slight pause.

"It's the only chance we have." The room began to shake more violently and Draco could tell that the ancient spells on the door were being stripped off. Hermione moved another object. Then he saw it. A tiny sphere of blue.

"There!" he shouted grabbing it in one hand and Hermione's hand in the other. Swiftly standing, Draco moved to the area directly in front of his bed, removing his hand from Hermione's and instead, to Hermione's surprise, throwing it around her waist, pulling her flesh against him. She gasped slightly, her head resting perfectly on his shoulder, realizing just exactly how close they were and for one second forgetting their dire situation.

"I'm not sure how far the range of the spell goes." Draco whispered. Hermione wondered why exactly they were whispering now. "So that's why we have to..." he trailed off and instead began to whisper something, yet it didn't sound like a spell or even a chant, it was more like… a song.

A calm feeling washed over Hermione as she listened to Malfoy's words. She had never heard him sing before. It was soft and beautiful, like a siren's song.

Il tempo è venuto fare la scelta 

_**Vivere o morire una volta per tutte **_

_**Ed infine fuoriuscire il mio destino creduto **_

_(The time has come to make the choice)  
__(To once and for all live or die)  
__(And to finally escape my believed fate)_

Hermione watched in amazement as the sphere rose in Draco's hand, an celestial light encompassing it.

_**Faccio la mia scelta; Scelgo il mio destino **_

_**La mia vita miei proprio ed esso sono tempo di volare **_

**Volando via ad un posto dello sconosciuto puro **

_(I make my choice; I choose my destiny)  
__(My life's my own and it's time to fly)  
__(Flying away to a place of pure unknown)_

Hermione realized that the room had stopped shuddering. And that it was quiet. But even though she knew what was coming she was still calm, entranced by that magical orb, and the siren song.

_**Prendalo in qualche luogo, in qualche luogo lontano lontano via**_

_**Aiutilo a fuoriuscire ad un posto che è sicuro, un posto che è libero**_

_**Un posto su questa terra, quella è in altro mondo**_

_(Take me somewhere, somewhere far far away)  
__(Help me escape to a place that's safe, a place that's free)  
__(A place on this earth, that's in another world)_

A violent roar sounded as Hermione's feeble attempts at locking spells were ripped down all in one

_**Lascilo fuoriuscire; lasci il mio anello di parole allineare; la mia vita, il mio futuro, il mio amore; tuttavia la mia scelta si leva in piedi diretta e comunque**_

_(Let me escape; let my words ring true; my life, my future, my love; yet my choice stands through and though)_

Lucius and Christina burst through the door, wands raised and spells ready, but they were already gone.

* * *

It was warm. They couldn't tell whether it was day or night for the tree's leaves were so thick above them. They were in a forest of some sort. There were no paths, no clearings, just the soft chipper of birds in the distance.

* * *

**A.N.** Okay so I'll make this as short as possible. 

**Answers to questions about Chapter 10**

I know the whole POV thing was rather annoyingly vague and confusing, put I guess I should let ya'll know I did that on purpose. You were kinda suppose to guess which ones were which, they were fairly easy except for probably one, namely why I didn't put in the names of who was thinking. However, I did put the POV for each section that it changed because again, while its pretty obvious, I didn't want to confuse anyone in _this_ chapter.

**1)** I want to thank all my reviewers and tell you that I appreciate your support though this work in progress and my horrible updating habits, but I must say that I most likely won't get to reply to each one of you anymore. I can hardly get chapters out and if I replied to everyone it would be too much, but I will try to do a few. Thank you so much again and please don't stop reviewing. **2)** Umm… I have this thing about summaries for R&D, if you want to help just go to my profile for info… **3)** Sorry to anyone that speaks Italian for the absolutely horrible translation into Italian for the Song of the Sphere, I don't speak Italian or know anyone who does so its just Google translation.


	12. Out of Your Element: Survival

**AN**- Okay everybody new chapter! This is the un-beta version, because my beta-reader is kinda busy… she has a life, apparently… unlike me of course. So sorry for any mistakes or general low quality. Oh and a question… should I change the rating to M, I'm just thinking that I used a lot more swear words than I had intended throughout the story (which irritates me but whatever), so would anyone have a problem with this? OPINIONS PLEASE! M RATING OR NOT? And on with the story…

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Out of Your Element: Survival**

* * *

Hermione's eyes shot open. She laid completely still, only the sound of her own ragged breathing reaching her ears. A soft moan startled her out of the daze and she quickly rolled on her side, getting a face full of blond, silky hair. Ignoring the hair, Hermione bit back a groan of her own as her muscles screamed in protest of her sudden movements. Slowly, the pain receded and Hermione rose shakily to a sitting position. She began to look around, trying to grasp her surroundings, but her attention was caught again by the moaning sound. Hermione looked down and saw Draco on the ground next to her, his eyes still closed and his face twisted slightly. Hermione leaned over a bit, almost falling on top of him as she tried to steady her weakened muscles. 

"Malfoy?" Draco gave no response, except to groan and shift a bit more. "Malfoy," she said this time more insistently. This seemed to snap him out of it. His eyes fluttered open gazing straight up into hers then glancing away. Gingerly, he sat up, gritting his teeth as if he was trying not to cry out. However, it seemed the excursion was too much for him and he ended up partly falling on Hermione's shoulder as he rose. Instantly, Hermione smelt something metallic again, this time stronger. She frowned. It was so familiar, yet her mind was once again like slush as she tried to put together pieces of what had happened. Her head began to clear as her strength gradually returned. She turned to Draco who was in fact still lying on her shoulder, panting slightly, his eyes once again closed. Hesitantly, Hermione touched the top of his head.

"Malfoy?" she asked again. Something was wrong. He of all people should have recovered faster than her. Draco looked at her, his eyes widening slightly before he looked away. Turning away from her, he began to fiddle with his robes, which had once again become undone. Hermione frowned again.

_Suspicious._

"Malfoy," she growled, looking him in the face. Draco tried, and failed, to look calm and innocent. "Let me see." Draco tried vainly to yank away as Hermione swiftly grabbed his shoulder. "What-" Hermione stopped short and her stomach dropped as that same smell came over her again, but this time, her brain now clear, realized what it was.

_Blood._

Hermione ran her palm over a slightly darker spot on Draco's robes. Lifting her hand she hesitantly turned it over. Her palm was covered in bright red. Hermione held back the sharp cry wanting to spring from her throat. She placed her other hand once again on his shoulder looking at him.

"Malfoy, what-" Draco rolled his eyes, trying to look nonchalant, but still avoiding her gaze.

"Let it go, Delavontá. It's nothing. Just-"

"Malfoy! It is not nothing. You're covered in _blood_-"

"I'm not _covered_ in blood." Hermione glared at him. _Damn his stubbornness._

"Let me see it," she said, a slight edge in her voice, going for the robes. Draco pushed her hands away as she tried to pull them open.

"Malfoy," she said exasperatedly, their struggle becoming more intense. Hermione, growing more and more frustrated with each passing second, finally leaned all the way over, straddling Draco's legs and after a few more seconds, effectively pinning his arms next to his sides.

"Now," Hermione said, catching her breath. Draco glared up at her. Trapped by a Mudblood.

"Let's look at this cut, shall we." Draco scowled, looking away from her.

"Don't you dare touch me, Delavontá." Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

"Malfoy, I have to look at this. We need to see how bad it is. I don't want you to bleed to death."

"Why thank you Delavontá, I didn't know you cared." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Malfoy." She began to fiddle with the middle of his robes, trying to maneuver them open. There was a slight pause.

"Delavontá, you're sitting on me."

"I've realized that thank you Malfoy," she snapped, her face blushing furiously, avoiding his eyes. There was another slight pause as Hermione continued to fumble with the robes, her face getting redder and redder with frustration, as she felt Draco's eyes boring into her.

"Acting out your wicked fantasies about me Delavontá?"

"No," she said forcefully, a bit too quickly. She blushed even more, avoiding Draco's penetrating stare. Draco smirked.

"Delavontá," he whispered. She ignored him, fiddling with the robes once more. "Delavontá," he repeated. Still no answer. "Dela-"

"What!" Hermione screeched, finally looking at him. He smirked again.

"You're sitting on me." Hermione glared at him.

"And?"

"And I would greatly appreciate it if you would get off." Hermione opened her mouth as if to retort, then stopped, her eyes narrowing.

"Fine, if, _if _you _promise_ to let me see the cut properly." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Delavontá." Hermione glared at him, not moving. Draco gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, I _promise_ okay." Hermione glared at him a second longer before slowly unstraddling his legs. She sat next to him, looking at him skeptically as if she expected him to bounce up and run into the forest. Draco scooted back a bit propping his head up against a tree root. He sighed again, just staring straight ahead of him. Then, rolling his eyes, he turned slightly looking at Hermione.

"Well," he said. Hermione blinked in surprised before cautiously moving toward him. He sighed and looked up once more, cursing the fates. It had, in fact, been his plan to jump up the moment Granger was off him, but to his utter shock and misery, he had found he could hardly move. Fatigue and pain seemed to lace throughout his entire body.

"Well," Hermione started, lifting up the bottom of the blood stained shirt slightly, "the cut itself doesn't seem bad, but what worries me is the amount of blood loss. You haven't lost enough to kill you of course, but it's still a great deal." She shook her head sadly. "I still can't believe I didn't notice before." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well, we were in kind of a rush Delavontá and I do believe you had almost been choked to death minutes before." Hermione sighed, missing his snarkiness.

"I know, but still. And I don't get why it's bleeding so much either."

"It's the magic." Hermione frowned.

"What?"

"It's my magic. Usually it would help slightly with the bleeding, some infection, etcetera, but because it's-" Draco paused. "…low, right now, it's not doing that." Hermione's frown deepened. "Low? How can your magic be low? I mean, I know the trip here seemed rough but…" she trailed off looking at him in question. Draco sighed again, not wanting to get into this right now.

"Why do you think you passed out, then felt so tired after we got here? How do you think we escaped, Delavontá? It took magic. Lots of magic. But not magic from a spell or object. Not from a wand. Magic from us, you and me. The magic that runs through our blood. Our magical core." Hermione gasped.

"Our core! But that's not possible. It's dangerous- It takes a highly skilled-" Hermione continued to stammer in disbelief.

"Don't get your panties in a ruffle Delavontá. It wasn't much and it'll be restored with time. In any rate it probably affected me a bit more, since you were just a passenger of sorts. I created-" Draco stopped short. Hermione glared at him.

"Created what? That sphere?" She paused, her voice quieting menacingly. "What exactly was that _sphere_, Malfoy?" Draco sighed. He really didn't want to go into a life story right now.

"I started working on it when I was 12, the summer after second year. I needed-" he paused as if remembering some painful memory. "I knew I needed an- an escape." He stopped again, and then plowed on, gathering more speed. "The Manor was full of wards and dark magic, ancient magic. I meant what I said before, about there being one way in and one way out. It's like a damn magical fortress. If a Malfoy wanted you out, you were out, and if a Malfoy wanted you in you weren't going anywhere." Draco gave a small, humorless laugh. "What I should say is that if _Lucius_ wanted you out, you were out, and if a he wanted you in you were staying in. But I knew, I knew there'd come a time like this, where I had to go, where I had to escape, whether he wanted me to or not. A time where I'd be so desperate-" Draco stopped once again, composing himself.

"So I started to create the sphere. It was hard, getting the books, doing the research, the experiments, without Lucius or any of his little spies finding out. But by the end of 5th year I had gotten it done. I knew it would do what I willed, I didn't know if it was even remotely safe, but it would work. Now all I had to do was hide it and hope I'd never use it."

"But that still doesn't explain how-"

"I'm getting to that Delavontá," Draco snapped. "Like I said before, the Manor was like a magical fortress. The only way to escape it was by magic. But it had to be magic that wouldn't alert any of the wards or alarms and that could get pass all the barriers and anti-spell blocks." Hermione frowned.

"But the only thing that could do that could do that would be-"

"Magic," Draco finished. "Just pure magic. Wild magic." Draco stopped talking, looking at Hermione. Hermione stared at him blankly for a moment before her eyes widened once again in disbelief.

"You're trying to tell me you created magic. You _can't_ create magic. Not only is it extremely difficult, but it's been outlawed since the Dark ages. Magic has to be taken from its source, a magical object or creature-" Hermione continued speaking rapidly, babbling and spitting out every fact she could remember from her mental library. "Magic that is created doesn't have a source; it's wild, untamed. It can infiltrate other magic or it can take magic from anything to make itself stronger. It can take the magic of anything, the magic of a person, the magic of life, the magic of happiness, anything! It could have pulled the house down around us! It could have killed us! How could you be so stupid! Don't you know-"

"Yes I know, Granger! I've been working on it forever. I did the research, I know the consequences. I said there was no other way," he snapped. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"You called me Granger." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and?" He paused, trying to appear nonchalant. "For a moment there it was almost like we were back at school." A small smile of reminiscence crossed Hermione's face and Draco gave a tiny chuckle before wincing. Hermione's eyes widened.

"I'm such an idiot. I forgot all about the cut." She took out her wand, and Draco's eyes too widened.

"Don't!" he shouted, wincing slightly again as he did so. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Malfoy. I am perfectly capable of doing a proper healing spell." Draco shook his head.

"You can't use your wand." Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"And just why not?" Draco sighed.

"They'd track us in an instant." Hermione frowned.

"The Ministry?" Draco laughed, shaking his head. Hermione's frown deepened.

"What's so funny," she snapped. Draco continued laughing and wincing for a few seconds.

"The Ministry can't track your wand anymore. Spells can be done to block that you know. They're usually very complicated, but most every pureblood family knows how to do them. In the Manor it's done automatically to any wand that comes into the house… just incase of certain 'emergencies' that might happen that we don't need the Ministry snooping around in." Hermione sighed.

"Okay… so then whose tracking us?" Draco's mirth disappeared.

"Lucius. Every wand that enters the house, while not able to be tracked by the Ministry, is now able to be tracked by him." Draco grimaced. "Another _safety precaution_." He sighed, looking at Hermione once more. "If we were to use our wands, he'd know where we are in an instant. We can't even use any magic at all; even wandless magic, because any major magical flare up in a non-magical area, which we could be in, would also be an alert to Lucius." They sat quietly for a second, both of them taking in all of this information.

"So… no magic," Hermione said softly.

"No magic." They sat there for a few more seconds, then Hermione groaned, throwing herself on the ground next to Draco.

"This is _horrible_!" Draco raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"Is the muggleborn of all people panicking without magic?" Hermione rolled her eyes at him, still lying on the ground.

"It's not just existing without magic. It's survival skills. Incase you haven't noticed Malfoy, we are in the middle of a _forest_! We have no food, no water, no shelter. No one knows where we are. _We_ don't know where we are-" Draco frowned.

"Don't lose it, Delavontá."

"Don't lose it!" Hermione screeched. "Don't lose it he says! I'm not losing it, I just-" Hermione continued to ramble. Draco let her go on for a few more minutes. Slowly, he began to lift himself up more, until his back was leaning against the tree trunk again. He started to look around him, wondering if it was all as hopeless as Granger seemed to think. He sighed, looking down. Maybe there was no way they would survive this. He realized the cut on his stomach still bleeding some. Since Granger was still rambling in despair, ignoring him, Draco decided that he would have to do _something_ about the cut himself. He took off his robe and began to quietly unbutton his shirt, then pulled it off. Hermione sat up abruptly as Draco began to examine his ruined shirt.

"What are you doing," she squeaked in a small voice. She tried to keep her eyes focused on his face.

"I'm going to have to rip it," he stated, not looking up from the shirt. "I need to wrap it around the cut."

"Oh," was all Hermione said, trying to keep her voice steady. Draco lifted his head, raising an eyebrow at her. Hermione tried not to blush and looked away from him. Draco smirked, shaking his head slightly and going back to his task. Hermione continued trying not to blush as she focused her attention on the trees, the ground, the grass… anything but Draco and his shirtless body.

_Why does he have to take his shirt off in front of me? First the shower, now this._ Hermione wanted to whimper. It's not like she wasn't used to boys' chests. Her two best friends were guys for goodness sakes. Staying with the Weasleys all those summers had left little to the imagination. And apparently Quidditch had done as much good for Draco as it had for Ron and Harry. _This is so wrong. I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this. Bad thoughts, Hermione. Bad thoughts._ She scowled. _It's not my fault he has the body of a Greek god…_ Hermione's eyes widened. She did _not_ just think that. She bit back a groan. _No Hermione. Bad, bad, thoughts._

Hermione kept berating herself until a series of small winces caught her attention. She continued to look away for a second until curiosity took over her. Glancing at Draco, she saw him slightly struggling to maneuver the folded strips of his shirt around his torso. Hermione resisted the urge to sigh dejectedly. As much as she wanted to just go back to ignoring him, her conscience would not allow her not to help him. She scooted closer to him, her eyes avoiding his and instead focusing on the makeshift bandages. Hermione tugged the ends of the shirt out of Draco's fumbling hands.

"I can do it, Delavontá. You don't have to-"

"Oh just shut up Malfoy," Hermione said in a weary voice. They both were tired, and thirsty. They didn't know where they were or how they were going to survive. Hermione finished tying the bandages as a tear rolled down her face. Malfoy was hurt, her parents were gone, no one knew where they were or could help them, and for once she hadn't the faintest clue what to do next.

Draco glanced over at Hermione, who leaned against the tree, slow tears coming out of her eyes. He began to feel that awful sensation settle in the pit of his stomach. He _hated_ when girls cried around him. It made him feel like he had to make it stop, like he had to fix all their problems, but he couldn't. It almost made him feel… helpless. Draco groaned slightly trying to force down that horrible feeling. Helplessness and guilt; two new emotions that he had rather not learned. It was all his fault too. Him and his stupid pureblood life, stupid family, stupid rules. It was all his fault, he had dragged her into this. Maybe if he had paid better attention to her, maybe if he hadn't just jumped into action without thinking, maybe if he had... if he had just done _something_ different. Maybe it would be different now. Draco knew all the thoughts running through his head were foolish. Maybe all the blood loss was finally getting to him. It wasn't his fault. But that didn't stop him from thinking it was. Draco was finding that this 'guilt' feeling was very consuming, he almost felt as if he was drowning in it. _Drowning_, for goodness sakes. _Drowning_. Malfoys do not _drown_.

"For Merlin's sake Granger. Stop blubbering," he snapped, looking up sharply at her. It felt like his freakin' heart was going to shatter. Hermione stared at him, a blank expression on her face, her cheeks blotchy and marked with tear trails. Draco began to squirm under her gaze, a bit embarrassed at his outburst. A glare he could stand, but this was just weird. Hermione continued to stare at him blankly for a moment before softly laughing and rolling her eyes.

"You are absolutely hopeless, you know that, Malfoy," she said, wiping away her tears. She shook her head sadly, glancing sideways at him. "Absolutely hopeless." Hermione gave another small laugh before laying down on the ground, looking up at the trees. Draco looked down, frowning at her.

"I am not _hopeless_." Hermione said nothing, continuing to gaze upward. Draco frowned for a second longer before sighing and also laying down, his hands behind his head. He was _not_ hopeless. They were not hopeless. This whole damn situation was not hopeless. Draco silently sighed. This was what he had wanted. Hadn't it… to escape? Draco ran a hand through his hair, thinking. He _had_ wanted to escape. He frowned. So what had gone wrong? Draco's frown disappeared, as his hand abruptly stopped moving through his hair. Nothing had gone wrong. The basic concept was still achieved. He _had_ escaped. The mere sentence caused an odd sort of flutter to go through his body.

_Escaped_.

Draco froze with the pure awe of it. Sure, he was in the middle of a forest, but that _was_ the point. He was in the middle of nowhere with no one. No school, no Slytherins, no friends, no enemies, no family, no father, no pressure, no responsibility, no looming cloud of dread that followed him everywhere. No anything.

Well… there was Granger.

Draco glanced sideways at Hermione who was still staring up at nothing in particular. But then again, compared to everything else, Granger wasn't that bad. Draco grinned a bit to himself, his small grin turning into a full smile. No, Granger wouldn't be that bad at all.

* * *

Hermione stared absentmindedly at the trees above her. At first she had been panicking profusely. She must have thought of a million different solutions to their solution, each one a bit more ridiculous than the last. It wasn't often that Hermione didn't have a solution for something. She sighed. But eventually Hermione was forced to succumb. Succumb to the lesson Harry and Ron had been trying to teach her for _years_. 

The art of how to relax.

Sure she could sit here and panic and scream and run around in circles, but she had already tried that… and it wasn't working. So she would lay here and calmly think, slowly, because quite frankly she was tired and thirsty and unlike all the other times she had been in dire situations, this time she had someone who, was an evil git with messed up morals, yes, but an evil git whose intelligence, unfortunately, was almost as high as hers… almost.

Hermione glanced sideways at the said person and to her utter surprise happened to find him grinning madly… and then smiling. Hermione stared in awe at the sight. She realized that she had rarely seen Malfoy actually smile. She had seen him frown, grimace, sneer, scowl, grin maliciously, and of course smirk often, but smile? Hermione gazed at him as he looked up at the trees still smiling. She decided that he had a… _nice_ smile. In a way just seeing him smile made her want to smile. Hermione continued to study Draco. He almost appeared… lighter in a way, like some heavy burden had been lifted off of him. He looked different than when he had been at school. Suddenly Hermione had the impulse to look into his eyes. She wanted to know what she would see. Happiness, perhaps? The ice shards that had always been there, melting away? It had to be something wonderful, with a smile like that. Hermione felt herself grinning slightly and an airy calmness coming over her.

"You should do that more often," she whispered softly, almost unaware she had said it aloud. Draco turned to her, traces of his grin still on his face.

"What?" Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise then shrugged.

"I just said you should do that more often." Draco's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Do what?" Hermione grinned slightly looking back up that the trees.

"Smile," she said simply. Draco stared at her for a moment then blinked. Slowly he returned to his previous position staring up at the trees, a faint blush gracing his cheeks and a small grin remaining on his lips.

They laid in silence for awhile, each of their minds on various things. Draco was lying perfectly still, trying not to fidget. His cut was throbbing painfully and was starting to aggravate him. Every time he moved a sharp pain would strike his stomach, then proceed to course through his body. The pain was making his head heavy and his mind rather clouded. He doubted Granger had any idea of what was going on, otherwise she wouldn't be lying there so calmly. Draco blinked slowly, slipping in and out of focus. He heard a faint rustle beside him. Granger had turned over on her side and was starting at him intently, biting her lip nervously.

"Malfoy," Hermione said softly. _Oh no._ Draco thought thickly. _What now?_

"Yes, Granger?" He said wearily. Hermione looked at him, mildly confused about the use of Granger again, but dismissed it, trudging on.

"Do you remember earlier when we where talking about the sphere and why you created it?" Draco nodded slightly, to muddled to tell her to piss off. "You said you needed it to escape… when you were so desperate." Hermione paused, breathing softly, staring steadfastly at him. "What did you think would happen that you would have to use it? I mean surely you didn't think that one day in the future I would suddenly come to your house and get attacked. I was just wondering… why?" Draco sighed, turning slightly toward her, but not meeting her eyes.

"Lots of things Granger," Draco whispered, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "So many things were happening. Things I had known would happen since I was a child. Things that I had thought ages about. Things that had been ingrained in me. But now-" Draco took another ragged breath, closing his heavy eyes.

Hermione looked at him worriedly, wondering if perhaps that small cut was worse than she thought. Was it time to change the bandages? Hermione considered saying something, but Draco was speaking again.

"It's _different_ now. No matter how long I had thought about it, no matter how long I had _known_. It just didn't matter. Now- now that it's actually happening, now that I'm actually _experiencing_ it…" Draco moved his head slightly. "It's just harder," Draco shrugged, "scarier, more real, it's just- different." Draco glanced briefly at Hermione, who was even closer to him. "I just didn't want to do it anymore," he paused, "any of it. I _just_ couldn't-" Hermione breathed shakily.

"You mean-" Draco groaned, shutting his eyes tightly, mostly at the pain, but a bit because of frustration. He sighed slightly.

"You're still a mudblood, Granger. And I'm still better than you." Hermione glared at him, rolling her eyes and looking away. "But with the war," Hermione glanced back at him, "I just couldn't. You know my father Granger. You _know_ him. And I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to. And I wouldn't. I _won't_." Draco sighed turning his back to her and falling silent. It was clear the conversation was over. Hermione looked at Draco a second longer before turning over herself. She closed her eyes sadly.

_The war. It was changing so many people, changing so many things._ Hermione thought back to Hogwarts and Ron and Harry. The war had effected everything, especially their friendship. So many plans had been made. So many efforts to be prepared. So many…

Hermione's eyes shot open. _The war. The plans._ Hermione sat up quickly grabbing Draco's shoulder and twisting him around. He blinked up at her incredulously as she grinned merrily down at him.

"Draco Malfoy," she squealed, "you are going to love me."

* * *

Draco continued to stare in horror at Hermione, then smirked. 

"Sorry to disappoint you Granger, but there is as much chance of that happening as we have of getting out of here." Hermione, however, was ignoring him, searching frantically through her pockets.

"I know it's here," she was mumbling to herself. "I always carry it with me." Draco nodded slightly, turning back on his side. "I don't know how I could have possibly forgotten, I mean I haven't worked on it in forever but..." Hermione's voice drifted in and out of Draco's ears, his brain becoming more muddled. He fought to stay out of unconsciousness.

"...I made it because I was worried about needing a safe place in the war, or if Ron, Harry, and I ever got separated. It's not nearly finished. Draco fought his mind, trying to focus on what Hermione was saying. Her voice seemed to go fast and then slow, switching constantly.

"...It doesn't use any magic, so we can't be detected. I mean it uses magic to enlarge itself, but the magic is already there, we didn't need to create it or anything, so no magical flare up." Hermione babbled on searching through her robes, before finally pulling out a small red box. "Found it!" Hermione exclaimed. Draco rolled back over, catching a glimpse of her triumphant face.

"Good for you," he whispered, before a roaring overtook his ears and he disappeared from consciousness.

**

* * *

**

_This isn't my bed._ Draco lay still, keeping his breathing steady. _Where am I? _He began to take in his surroundings, his eyes remaining closed. There was some slight movement coming from his right. It sounded innocent enough but the weird part was that it was the only thing he heard. _What had happened?_ Draco frowned slightly, trying to remember.

_Talking in the parlor... crawling through his closet... an enraged Christina... a slicing pain through his stomach... Hermione Granger in his arms... a bright blue light... a forest... _

The events of the past day came flooding back to Draco. He realized he must have passed out in the forest because of the pain. Draco shifted slightly, still trying to take in his surroundings. So he had escaped Christina and his father, but where was he now? Was Granger okay? Draco ignored that last thought. He realized that his cut felt better. So perhaps he wasn't in danger. But where was he?-

"I know you're awake Malfoy, so you can stop pretending." Draco froze, then slowly opened one eye. He looked up to see Granger leaning over him. She sighed, rolling her eyes, and walked away. Blinking some, Draco opened both of his eyes. He was laying in a small bed in the corner of a room. Slowly he sat up, preparing for a slight pain in his stomach. He looked down in a surprise as he felt nothing. Lifting the sheets he saw that the cut was properly bandaged and has a slight feel of salve under it.

"Here." Granger was back in front of him, shoving a bowl in his hands. Draco looked down at the choppy looking red stuff in it. Hermione sat on the other side of the bed, putting a bag between them. She pulled out a little black box-like machine looking thing and began to fiddle with it. Draco looked at her for moment, before Hermione looked back up at him, frowning.

"What? Aren't you hungry?" Draco looked down at the substance in the bowl then back at Hermione, eyebrows raised. Hermione sighed.

"Oh." She opened the bag next other her, pulling out a chip.

"This is a tortilla chip. You can eat it with salsa," she said dipping the chip in the bowl and popping it in her mouth. "Just," she said, waving the bag in his face, "eat it." Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Muggle food?" Hermione sighed.

"Yes, Malfoy, muggle food, and you'd better get used to it." Hermione got up and walked "around, looking from something, watching him out of the corner of the eye. Warily, Draco took a chip out of the bag, and stuck it in the bowl. Lifting it out he inspected it closely. Frowning, he put the chip in his mouth, chewing slowly, and swallowing. He paused, then sighing slightly, he took out another chip. Hermione went back to her searching, a small smile forming on her face.

**

* * *

**

Draco lay on the bed, looking around the room, and eating. Surprisingly enough, he found that he actually liked the new food. The slightly salty chips, with the spicy sauce and chunky tomatoes was like nothing he had experienced before. He had expected muggle food to be bland and common, but now he was secretly hoping to taste more of it. Not all though, of course. It couldn't _all_ be this good. Draco shifted in the bed, staring at nothing in particular. Granger had long since explained what had happened after he had passed out.

First, she had majorly freaked.

Well, she didn't exactly _say_ that. But Draco knew Granger. Trust him, she freaked. Then she had dragged him into this room and on the bed. She _dragged_ him for Merlin's sake. Can you believe her, she _dragged_ a Malfoy, on the _ground_.

Anyway the room was apparently some little box that expanded. He didn't know, some Granger invention. She created it for the war, so if something happened to her or Weasley and Potter and they got stranded, or something, they could have some where to go to. Apparently, it's hidden to everything else and people will pass right around it without seeing it. The room kind of expands around the things in its way which definitely explains the odd shaped masses bulging into the walls. She had been experimenting with it for a while so everything wasn't finished, just the basics apparently which explains the salsa and chips. Draco had found that the food was in fact a snack, not an actual meal. She had a small kitchen with a table and chairs to the left of the bed. On one end of the bed there was a door that led to a tiny bathroom and at the far end of the room there was an armchair and a shelf next to it with a few books and miscellaneous things.

Draco glanced back at the kitchen where Hermione was slowly pulling something out of a drawer. She glanced over at him, quickly looking back down when she saw him staring. Draco narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. Hermione sat at the table and taking a small breath, looked up at Draco, motioning him over. Eyes still narrowed, Draco rose from the bed and sat at the table. Hermione sighed, looking at him.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Draco sat across the table from Hermione staring at her incredulously. 

"You must be insane." Hermione sighed for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Malfoy it _has_ to be done."

"Absolutely not!"

"You stand out too much."

"I'm suppose to stand out!" Draco snarled. "I'm a Malfoy!" Hermione glared at him.

"Not anymore you're not." They continued to look at each other in stony silence. Growling suddenly, Draco stood, striding over to the bathroom door and slamming it behind him. He leaned against the wall, looking at himself in the mirror. In the back of his mind Draco knew Granger had a point. But his hair? Draco fingered some of his silky blond strands.

_Not anymore you're not._

Granger's words rang in his head.

_Not anymore you're not._ _Not one of them. Not a pureblood. Not a Malfoy. Not… anything._ Draco shut his eyes tightly, clenching his hands and taking a shuddering breath. He looked at himself again in the mirror, his face pale and his eyes glittering slightly. If he wasn't a Malfoy… what was he? Draco fingered the loose stands again.

_Malfoy_.

What did that mean anyway? Pain, torture, coldness…

_…family._ Draco sighed, letting go of his hair. It was just hair. He turned to walk out of the small bathroom. Draco paused, his hand on the doorknob. His face hardened and his eyes darkened. He _was_ a Malfoy, he would always be. No matter what it meant. But no one could know that, not now, not for a long time. Draco opened the door and stalked back over to the table, sitting down. He glared at her while she stared back questionably.

"What color?" he said.

* * *

Draco sighed, sitting in a chair, his hair feeling damp and slightly mushy. He looked down at the floor, the perfect image of a sad, downtrodden boy. 

"Remind me again why we have to do this." Hermione sighed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. This had to be the tenth time they had gone over this.

"Because Malfoy, your hair would stand out too much. It's too… _blond_. Besides if anyone that happened to be from the wizarding world saw you, they'd know something was up just because of that trademark hair." Hermione grinned slightly. "I guess that's just the price you get for being famous, Malfoy." Draco smirked for a moment before frowning again.

"Remind me again why _you_ don't have to dye your hair, Granger?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"And what color do you expect to dye it Malfoy?" Draco thought about it for a second. Red? Ugh. Weasleys. Blond? That would just be too creepy. Black? He wouldn't want them to look like bloody brother and sister or anything. Draco scowled at the thought. _Black_. She was dying his hair black. Of all the things. His scowl deepened.

"And black, Granger, remind me why it had to be black." Hermione glared at him, tired of his antics.

"Malfoy…"

"I mean, I'm going to look like Potter. Potter!" Hermione began to say something before she heard the small timer ring. She turned a still moping Malfoy towards the sink so she could wash out his hair. Hermione glanced at the box of _Merlin's Magical Hair Changer_, a smirk on her face that could rival Malfoy's.

_Oh no Malfoy. Trust me, you won't look a thing like Harry._

* * *

"You're sure you know what your doing?" Draco said over the roar of the hair dryer. Hermione raised her eyebrows looking down at him. 

"Shouldn't you have asked that _before_ I started. Draco sat up stiff as a board.

"You _don't_ know what you're doing!" he screeched. Hermione laughed.

"Relax, Malfoy. I've done this a million times before. I do it with my Muggle friends all the time." Draco relaxed slightly as Hermione turned off the dryer. She picked up the comb, running it through his hair once more. "Okay, done."

_Finally._ Tentatively, Draco reached up and touched his hair. It _felt_ the same. He stood to go to the bathroom. But how would it _look_?

"Wait," Hermione said softly. Draco turned to her scowling.

"What now, Granger. I want to see what you've done to my hair." Hermione looked at him, biting her lip slightly.

"Well…" Draco sighed dejectedly.

"Oh no. I _know_ that look Granger. What did you do now?" Hermione shrugged.

"Well you know how I said most of the things here are just the basics. Well hair dye and stuff like that was something I just started in case we had to go into hiding or be disguised or something. But I didn't have much time to get it ready and I didn't really look at it properly and-" Hermione rolled her eyes forcing herself to stop babbling.

"It's not _normal_ hair dye." Draco snorted.

"Well it's magical of course. I know that." Hermione nodded.

"Yes, but I mean _really_ not normal." Draco scowled.

"Granger, I swear if you so much as-" Draco took a step towards her, practically growling. Hermione took a step back.

"Now Malfoy, there's no need to get upset."

"No need to get upset! My hair Granger. My **hair**!" Hermione shifted slightly, glaring at him.

"It's not-" Draco spied something behind her back.

"Is that the box?"

"Malfoy-" Hermione warned. Draco snatched the box from her hands.

_-Merlin's Magical Hair Changer…-_

_-dye color: black…-_

_-will change eyebrows and eyelashes accordingly…-_

Draco eyes scanned the package.

"What was so different-"

_-Note: hair highlights contained: color- blue…-_

The box, dropped to the floor, and Draco stared in shock at his now vacant hands. He looked up at Hermione, practically growling again.

"You made me look like a fucking clown!" Hermione sighed.

"It doesn't-" Draco ignored her, storming off into the bathroom. Stopping short, Draco stared at himself in the mirror, his eyebrows slightly raised and a look of pure shock on his face. Hermione came in, smiling slightly.

"See, it doesn't look bad at all. Very… cool, dark, and mysterious." Hermione admired the hair, feeling just a bit proud of herself. She had done a good job. Draco's hair fell in perfect straight lines as before, framing his face. The dark black color made his fair skin and silvery eyes seem to glow. There was a small amount of blue streaks running through his hair and near the ends, fanning out to a ring of blue tips on the bottom. It wasn't the bright clown blue that Draco had been so worried about, but rather a slightly softer blue. The color seemed to bring out the slight blue hidden in his eyes, almost adding an icy coldness that made fiery shivers run down your back. Against his pale skin and midnight hair, the blue seemed almost like Draco's rebel streak. Mysterious. Dangerous. Hermione grinned watching Draco finger his new hair.

"See, you were in totally capable hands the entire time." She walked back to the kitchen, leaving a stunned Draco in the bathroom.

* * *

Draco yawned, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'm done brushing my teeth, so the bathroom is yours," he said across the table to Hermione who had pieces of parchment strewn around her. Draco picked up one of the papers absentmindedly. "What are you doing anyway? It looks like a mini tornado passed through here." 

"I'm just looking over some research," Hermione mumbled, not even bothering to look up. Draco rolled his eyes.

"We're not even in school right now and you're _researching_?" Hermione rolled her eyes, looking up at him.

"Research for this place. I haven't really worked on everything with the room, so I'm just trying to see if everything actually will work." She stood, yawing. "I guess it's time to go to bed though." Draco nodded, rising from the table and flopping onto the bed. Hermione paused on her way to the bathroom, looking at him. "Malfoy…" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Just where do you expect me to sleep?" Draco rolled his eyes. Not this again.

"It's not my fault that you only put in one bed, Granger." Hermione sighed.

"Couldn't you be the gentleman for once and let me have the bed?" Draco only response was to sigh and snuggle further down in the covers. "And just what am I suppose to do?" Draco smirked.

"There's an armchair Granger." Hermione stared at him in disbelief, letting out an angry huff. She opened the bathroom door.

"Malfoy," she whispered angrily. She looked down shaking her head slightly before closing the door behind her. Draco looked at the door where Hermione had disappeared into. That _icky_ feeling was crawling into his stomach again. Sighing, he turned over, trying to ignore it. But there it was again, clawing at him. Wearily, he turned back over, once again looking at the closed bathroom door.

_You **could** be a gentleman for **once**._

Damn, those stupid demonic voices in his head were back.

_It wouldn't be so bad…_

_I mean, it would just be this once._

Draco shut his eyes, willing the voices to go away. But alas, they prevailed.

It might be fair. I guess… 

_I wouldn't want Granger to not be able to walk or something tomorrow because her back hurts and all that. She still has that research to do and stuff._

Draco sat up in bed, still staring at the door.

_I mean, I've already made her sleep on the floor… and look how well **that** turned out._

Draco fidgeted, trying to stop staring.

_Granger, she wasn't that bad, after all._

…

_That. Is. It!_

Draco was going to put a stop to these stupid demonic voices and their weird clawings at his stomach. Swiftly he rose out of the bed, carrying a sheet with him, only pausing in front of the bathroom door before sitting in the armchair on the other side of the room. Sighing, the voices and clawing gone, he draped the sheet over himself, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the bathroom, still grumbling slightly about the bed situation. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't had time to put in more beds. Where was she going to sleep? Hermione glanced over at the small bed, expecting to find the peacefully sleeping devil in disguise. She frowned, seeing only a rumpled blanket. Glancing over at the armchair, her mouth fell open slightly seeing a sleeping Malfoy occupying it. A small happy smile on her face, Hermione went over to the bed, snuggling down in it. Exhausted she started to drift off to sleep. Why he had done it was a mystery she would have to figure out with the rest of the enigma of Draco Malfoy. But for now she was just happy with the soft bed. 

_It smells nice. _Hermione inhaled sleepily, basking in the scent of sharp cinnamon and trees. She drifted off to sleep._ It smells just like Malfoy._

Draco opened his eyes, stopping pretending to sleep and looked across the room at Hermione. She was fast asleep, snuggled underneath a blanket with a small smile on her face. Draco looked away a small smile adorning his face also and a light fluttery feeling in his stomach.

* * *

Hermione sat at the table, pouring over the pile of papers. _No, it can't be right._ Hermione groaned in frustration, making a few more changes. Her face fell as she dropped her head in defeat. _This is not good. _Hermione stacked all of the papers in a pile, glancing at the clock on the wall. It was still early, but… Hermione did the calculations. They had about ten minutes before they needed to worry. Hermione grabbed two small backpacks from the cupboard and started throwing various items inside them. She caught a glimpse of Draco curled up in the armchair out of the corner of her eye. Sighing, she grabbed some clothing out of another cupboard and trudged over to where Draco was sleeping. She shook him gently. 

"Malfoy…" Draco stirred. "Get up," she said more urgently. Draco sat up in the chair, rubbing his eyes. Hermione dumped the pile of clothes in his lap. "Hurry up and get dressed." Draco stared blankly at the clothes in his lap as Hermione walked around the room, putting more things in the bag. "We don't have much time Malfoy. Hurry up and put them on." Draco frowned, standing and holding up the clothes.

"Why? What's happening?" Hermione continued to walk around the room, throwing things in the bags.

"There's no time to explain. Just go and change."

* * *

Draco walked out the bathroom, examining himself as Hermione did one last check around the room. Draco frowned, still looking at the clothes he was wearing. 

"Who's clothes are these anyway? How did you get them?" Hermione looked up, throwing him a bag.

"Well, Ron don't have much Muggle clothes and I don't think Harry's would fit you and it might look out of place. So most of the clothes I brought for them are some of my guy friends' old clothes. Got some really weird looks from them when I asked though." Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust at wearing some random boy's old clothes, but for the moment he would deal.

"Will you tell me what's going on Granger?"

"Outside," Hermione said walking out the door. Draco glared after her, then rolling his eyes, he walked out the door carrying the bag. As Malfoy came out, Hermione stepped back as the room disenlarged itself and picked it up. Draco looked at the small box in her hands blankly, then looked back at Hermione narrowing his eyes.

"Now tell me what's going on, Granger," Draco said. Hermione bit her lip.

_That is **never** good. _

"Well this morning I was doing more research. You see, since I still hadn't finished everything having to do with the room, there were still some small glitches in the spell. One being the perseverance spell."

"The perseverance spell?"

"Yes. The perseverance spell keeps _everything_ working. But… well, the spell should be continuous and with the beginning of the research I had already figured out that it was certain that it would stay a certain amount of hours. However when I was completing the rest of the research on the spell, to check it, I found that _after_ these hours, the spell wouldn't work." Draco frowned.

"And what exactly happens if the spell isn't there?" Hermione shrugged.

"Everything just stop working." Hermione looked at the watch she had taken from the room. "In fact, the spell should be ending right about…" The two gazed at the little red box in Hermione's hand.

"…now" The box disappeared. Hermione slowly lowered her hand. Then, rummaging in her bag, she pulled out the black-machine like thing she was fiddling with before. "Okay, let's go." Hermione looked at the box and began walking.

"Granger," Draco called, his eyes narrowed. Hermione looked at him over her shoulder. "Just what would have happened if we had still been in the room." Hermione open her mouth to reply then stopped, closing her mouth and looking at him sheepishly.

"Well," she started slowly. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, Granger. I don't even want to know anymore."

* * *

"Okay, this is a GPS, only slightly modified by magic," Hermione said, showing Draco the thing this had been fiddling with as they walked along. "According to it we're near some really small town in the Americas, the United States, actually. It's called Saint Jude, in Oregon somewhere." Draco peered at the GPS with mild curiosity. 

"The US, huh?" Hermione nodded.

"Ever been?"

"Gods no." Hermione shrugged.

"I've been there once. To New York City. I was visiting Alaska one summer. It was interesting, but New York is huge, tons of people. St. Jude will certainly not be like that at all." Draco nodded. The two continued to walk through the trees in silence for awhile, Hermione slightly in front, her brow furred, concentrating on the GPS screen, Draco softly stepping behind her, his eyes flickering around, taking in the forest.

"Oh," Hermione said, stopping suddenly, almost causing Draco to run into her. He scowled down at her. "Before I forget-" Hermione pulled two vials out of her pack, handing one to Draco. "They're voice alternating potions." Draco peered at the lavender colored liquid before uncorking it and swallowing the potion with Hermione. He grimaced slightly, a similar expression on Hermione's face. Why couldn't they ever make these things taste good, or at least reasonably non-stomach turning?

Hermione sighed, taking the empty vial from Draco and putting both of them back in the bag. She shrugged continued to walk. "It won't get rid of our accent, but the potion should make it difficult for others to place it. I think it's better off if people didn't know that we're British right off," Hermione said, her new voice sounding like a little bit of everywhere. Draco nodded absentmindedly.

"But," Hermione stopped short, a pensive look on her face, almost causing Draco to run into her again. He scowled once more. Did she have to stop like that every time she thought of something! "Now that I think of it, where _are_ we going to say we came from? I mean…" Hermione continued to babble on, as Draco ignored her, still looking warily around the forest. Had he heard something?

Draco had always had a slight underlying fear of forest. He _knew_ about magical creatures, especially the dark ones that made their home in the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts. He had heard the stories, gruesome, awful stories from his father since he was a young boy about what they had done, what they _could_ do. He needed to know because according to Lucius and the Dark Lord, with dark creatures, they could find indestructible allies, or deadly foes. Draco had even seen a few. He knew how sheer dark magic cloaked them. He knew their craving for power, for energy, for blood. The creature in them ran on pure animalistic instinct, unwavering, uncontrolled. He _knew_ it. He _felt_ it. He probably knew more of the creatures of the forest in his first year than that stupid oaf of a teacher. He had known it was a _very_ bad idea to go into that Forbidden Forest that year, even if it _was_ for detention. It was _dangerous_.

Draco looked around, still trying to determine, if he had actually heard something. He knew this wasn't a magical forest, but still, Draco felt a bit uneasy. But he didn't want to seem paranoid. Draco whipped his head round, looking at the trees on his right. He had _definitely_ heard something.

"Granger, shut up," he snapped. Hermione looked at him, indignant, but kept her mouth closed, seeing the look of determination on Draco's face as he looked round. Draco heard another crunching noise, this time to his left and then… giggles? Draco frowned. _What the hell? _Hermione hearing it too, looked curiously at the trees. There was silence for a moment and then the noise started up again. First it was on their left, then in front of them, behind them, on their right. Draco's eyes continued to flit around warily, his muscles almost imperceptibly taut, prepared for anything. Hermione twisted around with each new direction of the noise, biting her lip slightly with cautiousness and concentration and a slightly fiery look in her eye. The noise seemed to be getting louder. From the sound of it, there had to be several different creatures, or something running all round them. The thing seemed to be moving quickly and lightly. The small laughing continued and it almost seemed like it was calling.

"_Gra…"_ the voice almost seemed to blend in with the whispering wind in the trees. It laughed again merrily, calling out to them. The voice was definitely getting louder. Draco took a few more steps closer to the trees in front of him, peering though the woods.

"_Come…_" the voice floated towards him, still melded with the wind. But he could definitely hear it clearer.

"_Come to me_," it called, "_Find me…_" The running noise became louder, closer to the trees Draco was still peering at.

"_Gran…_" the voice called again, before all movement and voice stopped, leaving only the whispering of the trees once more. And then with a quiet yell, something darted out of the forest. Draco felt it entwine around his legs and looked down, meeting a pair of big green eyes.

* * *

**AN**- There it is. Please don't complain to me if the characters are a bit OOC, its sooo hard for me some times to get them right, I just write and this is what came out especially Hermione. So all I have to say is continue to read my profile to see little updates on the how the story is going and extra tidbits about it and of course review, review, review! I didn't have a very good response to the last chapter, but I suppose that's my own fault for taking so long -sighs-. I'm doing the **karma** thing now, I never really used to review, but now when a story updates I write a little something, it's hard cuz there's so many stories, but I feel better afterwards. What goes around comes around… -hint hint- 


	13. Bittersweet Revelations

**A.N.** Okay first I'd like to say sorry to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. I was trying to put this up before school started (for me anyway), but alas, I got sick. I know 2 days before school! 101 temperature! Not fun. Anywayz, sorry about that, but the chapter is here now so enjoy!**

* * *

**

**Chapter 13**

**Bittersweet Revelations**

**

* * *

**

Hermione covered her mouth trying to stifle her laughter. After getting over her initial shock of seeing something dart suddenly out of the forest, she found the scene before her to be one of the funniest and most unusual sights she had ever seen. Draco Malfoy stood stock-still looking down at his legs, his mouth slightly hanging open in shock. There was a small girl about five or six with long strawberry-blond hair flowing almost down to her waist. A tiny, white, wicker basket was clutched in her hand as her arms embraced Draco around his knees. Her eyes were wide with surprise and confusion as she stared up at Draco.

"Gra- Grand-mère?" she whispered softly. Hermione couldn't take it anymore; it was too hysterical. She began to laugh, removing her hand from over her mouth. The spell seeming to hang over Draco and the girl broke and they both looked at her. Draco scowled, glaring, while the girl just seemed to become more confused and frightened with the other girl's presence. "Grand-mère?" she said once again, her arms instantly loosening themselves from around Draco's legs. Her voice trembled with fear and unshed tears shone in her bright eyes. Hermione calmed herself down, realizing the child's panic.

"No, no sweetie. It's okay." Hermione began to walk slowly towards her, one arm outstretched, palm up, as if trying to coax a jittery animal. The girl watched her with scared eyes, backing up. "We won't hurt you. We're just lost, just like you. It's okay." Hermione continued trying to comfort the girl. The girl continued to back away, now looking frantically around her.

"Grand-mère," she would whisper, it sounding almost like a chant, a prayer.

"We'll help you find your grandmother. We promise. Don't be frightened." The girl glanced back at Hermione, before letting out a strangled whimper and turned heel and ran. Hermione cursed under breath, taking off after the girl. Draco, who had been quiet throughout the whole ordeal, watched as the two girls took off. He sighed. He supposed he'd have to go after them. _But there is no way I'm running. _Draco began to stride through the forest in the direction they had taken off.

* * *

Draco spotted Hermione leaning against a tree, her hands on her knees, panting slightly. He stopped in front of her, his hands in his pockets and a nonchalant look on his face. 

"So," he started, "can we go now?" Hermione looked up at him, glaring.

"No, we can't just go now," she panted. She pointed to the trees behind her. "We have to find that little girl!" Draco looked at her blankly.

"Why?" Hermione stared at him in disbelief.

"Why! Because she could be lost and alone. She could get hurt. It's only a little girl." Hermione looked down mournfully at the little flower basket the girl had dropped while she ran. Draco shrugged.

"So?" Hermione gaped at him, opening and closing her mouth. Draco rolled his eyes. "We have more important things to worry about, Granger." Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"You are unbelievable. Have you no feelings at all!" Hermione spat. Draco's eyes drew cold.

"I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve, unlike you Granger. I mean what has being some over sentimental idiot gotten you anyway?" Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"You know what it's gotten me? Friends, Malfoy! Good, true, _great_, friends. A wonderful family. People who genuinely care about me," Hermione said, practically snarling. Draco stared at her, his face devoid of all emotion.

"Touché, Granger. Touché," he said, his voice calm and cold. Hermione stood, still glaring at him.

"But you know what acting like you, acting like an emotionless prick, all the time gets you? Nothing, plain and simple, Malfoy. I may wear my emotions on my sleeve, but maybe you should try it some time." Hermione stepped closer to him, her eyes blazing. "And maybe you'll see just what _that_ could get you." Draco stared down into Hermione's furious eyes, his own emitting icy daggers. Anger seemed to radiate off him as his eyes hardened into fierce hate.

"You want to know what that gets me Granger? It gets me shunned... punished… _cursed_. Do you remember the curses, Granger?" Draco took a step towards Hermione, the air around him still radiating cold anger. "_Crucio_," he whispered, barely audible. To Hermione the word seemed to take on a shape of its own, wrapping, twisting, and twirling tightly; tugging and pulling at her; pricking and prodding.

_Crucio_.

The pain, the tears, the blood. Hermione gazed into Draco's frozen eyes.

Of course she remembered.

How could she ever forget? How could she forget about his kind of life.

"Malfoy," she said softly, pleadingly. Draco shoved away from her.

"No!" The word burst from him violently. "I don't need your fucking pity, Granger. Your _sympathy_," he spat. "I don't want your 'Oh poor Draco Malfoy, woe to him', okay!" He backed away from her, regaining his composure. He gave a faint smirk. "Let it go, Granger. I'm not some poor lost soul. I'm just the same cold-hearted bastard that's made your life hell since first year. Always have been, and I always will be."

Hermione stared at him a moment before looking away. Slowly, she sat down, her knees pulled against her chest, leaning against the tree. Draco turned about a bit looking at the surrounding forest. Turning back to Hermione he opened his mouth to tell her to get a move on, but she interrupted.

"Just because you act as if you have no heart, doesn't mean you don't actually have one," she whispered. Draco stared at her, slightly startled. He shook his head.

"Whatever Granger. I've called you Mudblood for six years. I'm just as evil as everyone thinks. Me, ever having a heart?" Draco scoffed. "I don't remember it Granger." He sat against a tree opposite to her, in the same position.

"I remember," Hermione said. Draco raised an eyebrow. "In the portal," she whispered. Draco looked away.

"I don't want to talk about that room, Granger. Forget about it. It's done and over with."

"But we can't just forget. We were there. It was real. We can-"

"Stop," Draco said. "We're not there anymore, Granger. We're just not there." Hermione stared at him a second, then looked down also. They sat in that tense silence for a moment before Hermione whispered,

"You're right." There was a pause and Hermione looked back up at Draco, who was staring through the trees. "We're not there anymore." Draco turned his head, looking at her.

"We're not in the portal or at Hogwarts. We're not at my house or the Manor. There's no Ron and Harry. There's no Crabbe and Goyle. There's no Dumbledore. There's no Lucius." Draco's shoulders relaxed a bit as he let Hermione's words wash over him.

_It was gone, all gone. Everything._

_Escaped._

The word floated across his mind, a reminder of what he had left.

The thousands of walls that had blocked years of unwanted emotions, seemed to be crumbling with the mere thought of that word again. A slow wave crashed over him, filling him with happiness, joy, grief, pain, guilt, calm. Things that just kept coming and crashing down upon him. His life, his past, his future. What would happen to him?

Hermione continued talking.

"There's just the forest and us. Just the two of us… just like before."

_Just like before._

The words seemed to echo inside Draco's head. He looked back down at the swaying blades of grass.

_Just like before, before it the portal._

Draco didn't want to think of the portal, not ever again. It brought back unwanted memories. But here it was, something that still clung to the back of his mind, making him remember, making him _feel_ all those memories. The things that he had learned, that he never wished to know, about Granger… and about himself. The pain he caused, and for once actually feeling that pain himself.

The madness of it all.

Being in that, that kind of _openness_, with another person. Feeling one pure connection with someone for once…

…and watching it slip out of his fingers like grains of sand, all in an instant. He tried so hard not to remember, not to remember how it _felt_, but it clung to him like an agonizing reminder of what he could be… what he was. He hated it because of what it did to him. The way it allowed a tiny ray of hope. It made him hope, wish, and want, more than anything, for something so hard to believe in. That the person he saw, the person he was in that fateful white room, that, that person could actually exist, inside of him.

* * *

Hermione watched the silent Malfoy sitting across from her. His head was lowered slightly and his long bangs fell in front of his face, shadowing his eyes. Hermione wondered what was going through his head. A halo of dark mysteriousness seemed to encase him. She continued to stare, not giving one thought to the possibility of being caught, for though he was only a meter or so away from her, Draco Malfoy seemed to be in an entirely different universe. 

Hermione longed to know the thoughts of Draco Malfoy. Most people thought she was oblivious to the real world, with her head always stuck in books, but Hermione considered herself to be rather perceptive of the people around her. She always knew what was going on with her friends. With Ron, she could almost read all his thoughts and emotions from a simple study of his face. With Harry, it was harder, but with a little coaxing, a little waiting, and patience she could eventually come to a conclusion about what was going on in that head of his. Hermione liked knowing these things about other people. It almost made her feel _safe_ in a way.

With Malfoy she could know nothing. But sometimes… she felt it. The faint waves of sadness and pain emitting from him. Most times she could forget, she could pretend not to feel it, and go on, forcing herself to focus on what a big prat Draco Malfoy was. But then, something like this would happen.

And she'd remember.

And she'd feel her heart break again. And then not only did she want to know exactly what was causing her heart to break, but help make whatever it was leave them both alone.

It was common knowledge that Hermione liked to know everything about anything. And it was common knowledge to her friends that she also seemed to have this strange need to cure the world of all its sorrows and injustices. Hermione sighed, tearing her eyes away from Draco. And her heart still broke to know that she could neither know Draco Malfoy, nor help and comfort him. She rose slowly.

But it would not be for lack of trying.

Hermione walked quietly, going next to Draco. She sat down, risking a glance at him. Her breath hitched at the sight she saw.

The aura of cold darkness that seemed to swirl around Draco intensified with every moment Hermione watched him. His head was still lowered perfectly, his arms resting on his knees, as if he had been poised for a sculpture. His long hair framed his face, each strand piercing the aura around him like sharp daggers. The midnight black strands seemed to shadow him even more like a sinister fog, hiding him from the world. The blue melted into the halo around him, seeming to snake in cool tendrils through the air. But through the shadowy fog that seemed layered upon him, through his hanging strands of sharp tresses, came the sight that made Hermione's heart shatter all over again.

His eyes.

They shone like two soft flames in the shadows, staring into nothingness, unmoving, glinting erratically as flit after flit of emotion passed through them. His emotions seemed to jumble together, swirling in some chaotic dance. The pain and sorrow, the confusion seemed to be rushing though him and Hermione was getting a rare glance at them as they performed in the windows of his eyes. He almost seemed not to be breathing, the only way Hermione knew that his heart was in fact still beating was the soft, almost imperceptible, movement of his pale pink lips, voicing silent whispers. Hermione stared back into his glinting eyes watching the swirling and twirling, the tumbling and rushing, their chaotic dance. She had found the inner turmoil that was Draco Malfoy. She felt as though she was watching his very essence, his very soul.

And it was in that time that Hermione Granger realized that Draco Malfoy nothing more than a fallen angel.

His dark air of mystery and shadows. His perfectly lighted tresses, whether blond or black. His silvery blue glinting eyes that could enflame you and send icy chills down your back all with one look. His perfect heavenly poise of elegance seen by all, only to be marred by the inner torment that he had carried almost forever. The dark shadow of pain and suffering that seemed to hover over him. The pain he had always known, the pain he had caused, the pain he had been subjected to… the sorrow… and the way that he managed just to barely keep his very being from falling to pieces. Yes, Draco Malfoy was a fallen angel. And if she looked really hard, Hermione swore she could almost see his spindly black wings, gracefully resting upon his back, slightly fluttering in the quiet wind.

And then, he turned and looked up, not at her, but simply staring ahead. And the spell over him, over her, over the whole forest, seemed to fall. The shadow around him stirred slightly and an air of restless calm overtook the entire area around them. The darkness and turmoil lessened. But Hermione could still see it, still remember it. The soul of Draco Malfoy, the fallen angel. Her fallen angel.

Hermione paused. _Her?_ Since when had Draco Malfoy become her little pet project? And with a small sigh, Hermione realized that somehow, he always had been. Hermione broke off her gaze of Draco for the first time, instead, like him, simply staring out into the forest.

"Ever since I came to Hogwarts," she began again, "every major event in my life, every adventure, every near death experience, every new, breathtaking step I took, has been with Ron and Harry right there with me. Whether it was foolishly trying to protect me, or for once simply lending quiet strength, or just plain getting me into more completely insane trouble, they've always been there, every step of the way. But now, suddenly for the first time since we became friends… they're not here." She sighed. "It's just me." Hermione nudged Draco slightly, a tiny wry smile on her face. "And you," she said, staring at him intently. "And, well, I'm not going to pretend to know anything about your life, but I'll guess that now is a first time for you too. The first time in your life where you can go on without looking over your shoulder, wondering whose watching, wondering what's going to be expected of you next." Hermione continued to stare intently at her fallen angel. "Malfoy, no one knows you here, no one knows what you've done, where you come from, no one knows who you're suppose to be." Hermione shrugged. "Well, nobody but me… and that's not _so_ bad is it?" Draco heard the echo of his own past words ringing in his head.

"_No Granger wouldn't be that bad at all."_ Draco shrugged slightly. Hermione's eyes lit up at this first sign of reaction. She continued, a bit of light hopefulness in her voice.

"And now we both can be whoever we want, act however we want." These sentences sounded rather strange to Draco. _We both can act however we want? Just what has Granger been hiding?_ He mused to himself, continuing to stare outward towards the trees, slowly taking in what Hermione was saying. Draco had decided that it was one thing when the little demonic voices in your head tell you something, but it was completely different when a real person actually confirmed it. It made him feel like he wasn't _completely_ insane.

"We can just be ourselves," Hermione said, wondering, hoping that something that she was saying was getting through to Draco.

"And what if I don't know who I am?" Draco whispered calmly, shifting his gaze again to the vibrant green blades of grass below him. Hermione gave a half shrug, a faint smile on her face.

"Then we start from scratch. And create whoever you want to be."

_Whoever I want to be?_ The words seemed almost too good to be true. Draco glanced at the trees around him. Well it seemed like most everything was becoming too good to be true. Yet here he was.

"Escaped," Draco whispered, barely audible as the thought ghosted across this mind yet again. Hermione could almost feel the power behind that one little word. It was true, so very true.

"Escaped," she repeated. Draco let out a small sigh and looked at Hermione. He cocked his head a bit, a small smirk gracing his lips.

"So just what do you suggest we do?" Hermione gazed at him. He had that same sarcastic drawl that Hermione had known for six years, yet his manner held none of its usual malice and the freezing ice shards in his eyes seemed if only a bit, to be melting. Hermione's eyes brightened slightly. Perhaps there was hope yet.

"Well, we're both in this together, right? So we're both going to have to work together. We're going to have to trust each other." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I've never trusted anyone but myself." _With good reason too._

"Believe it or not Malfoy, most times I have trouble trusting other people too. But still, I've got a feeling we're going to need to anyway." Draco made a small non-committing noise. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So…" Draco said, motioning her to continue.

"I recommend we start over, a truce in a way." Draco gave a disbelieving scoff. Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Oh come on. I'm not saying we have to be the best of friends and all that 'tra-la-la', hey I'm not even saying we have to _civil_ all the time either, I just saying not to be so viscously at one another's throats. No below-the-belt insults, you know?" Hermione stuck out her hand. "Okay?" Draco stared at it. Hermione looked him in the eyes. "We've come this far already." Draco gave a moments hesitation, before throwing all caution to the wind and taking her hand.

A small spark seemed to jolt through their hands as they touched, dissolving into a slight tingling, spiraling up their arms. Draco and Hermione looked at their hands in confusion for a moment before their eyes met. They stood there, remaining like that, just looking at each other, a small smile on Hermione's face and a smirk on Draco's face that suspiciously was almost looking like a grin. The tingling sensation seemed to continue from their arms, spiraling around their bodies. Even the air around them seemed to be charged and sparking with something. A light flush became apparent on Hermione's cheeks as she and Draco stood there, still staring at each other intently. It almost seemed as if they were waiting for something, anything, to happen.

The tingling sensation on them and in the air seemed to grow stronger, rising considerably with each passing second almost pulsating around them, mixed with an odd, slight heat. Then suddenly, when the two thought the air and tingling sensation could get no stronger the feeling started to lessen. Rapidly disappearing almost as fast as it came, the sensation was spiraling back down their arms, then to their hands. For a moment all the energy appeared to concentrate between their two grasped palms and then the sensation seemed to explode, flying out of their hands. They both bit back an odd sigh as the most wonderful, warm, tingling feeling hit near the small of their backs, and disappeared. Hermione and Draco stared at each other, their breathing a bit more ragged, each one utterly confused and refusing to make the first move.

"Ahem," a sharp voice cleared their throat behind the still hand-in-hand couple. They both inhaled sharply, letting go hands as if they were on fire and jumping away from each other. They turned in the direction of the voice, seeing a dark figure among the trees. The figure stepped out of the shadows towards them.

It was a stately woman in her 50s or 60s. She stopped a couple feet before the two and managed to look sternly down at the both of them even though she was still slightly shorter than Draco. Her long dark hair was sprinkled with grey and white and pulled back into an elegant bun. Her deep blue eyes surveyed Hermione and Draco coolly and they felt almost as if they had been caught doing some reprehensible crime and were now being judged. The woman in fact reminded them almost of McGonagall, with the way her eyes bored into them as if seeking out all they were hiding from her. Though she, if possible, seemed to contain more poise and grace than McGonagall.

Her mere presence was commanding, making them feel as if someone much more important than them, royalty perhaps, had arrived. More so, with her demeanor seemingly indifferent and an air of strict power around her she could almost be thought of like Snape. That was however if her very unSnape-like, sheer beauty hadn't had been more evident. Along with her air of grace and elegance, a natural beauty seemed to radiate off this new arrival, no matter how cold or commanding. She wore a pair of soft black pants with a light blue shirt. It seemed as if she was on her morning walk. Around her shoulders was a long, overcoat type of clothing, that matched the soft dark material of her pants. It almost reminded them both of a wizarding robe. The overcoat began to rustle slightly. Frowning, the woman broke eye contact with the two and looked down at her side.

"Virginie. Get from underneath there this instant," she said; her voice was sharp and commanding, but not harsh. Slowly, a little head became visible underneath the coat. Hermione gave a faint smile, recognizing it to be the same girl they had met before. The girl gave a small smile back, cautiously stepping from behind the woman's robes, her head ducked shyly. She glanced up, an excited smile appearing on her face as she spotted her flower basket beside Draco. Turning to look up at the woman, she gave a pleading look.

"Don't look at me," the woman stated. "Go on and get it." Darting quick as lightning, the girl went over to Draco and scooped up the basket. She paused for a moment as she caught Draco staring down at her. Her eyes widened and she stood there, looking at him, before breaking eye contact and darting back to the woman, disappearing underneath her coat once more. The woman gave a stern look at the slight bulge in her coat, then sighed, stroking the small child's hair as she poked her head out a bit. She turned her gaze back to Draco and Hermione.

"Well?" the woman questioned. Hermione glanced worriedly at the little girl.

"We didn't mean to frighten her. She just appeared out of nowhere. We tried to find her. Well, I tried to find her, but she was running so fast and-" The woman held up her hand, effectively ceasing Hermione's talk.

"You," she stated clearly, "are trespassing in _my_ forest." She paused, still giving them that penetrating stare. "Now," she lowered her hand, "what do you have to say for yourself." Hermione took a deep breath. "Well," she began, frantically searching her mind for something to say. "We were-"

"No," the woman said, her voice soft. She turned her gaze to Draco. "You." Draco masked his surprise. He had expected Granger to do all the talking. With a brain as fast as her mouth, he was sure she'd spit to some sort of semi-reasonable babble. Draco shrugged, coolly meeting the eye of the calculating woman.

"We were just passing through." There. No fancy psychobabble, just plain simple, and best, perfectly acceptable. The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" Draco somehow managed to shrug and nod slightly at the same time. "Well then," she said, the faintest of amused smiles on her face. The woman turned around, walking in the direction she had come from. The little girl darted out of the cloak, gaily skipping forward, flower basket in hand. "Come along," the woman called, striding away, her coat billowing behind her. Now she definitely reminded them of Snape. The two followed the woman closely through the forest. Hermione glared across to Draco.

_Just passing through!_ She mouthed angrily. Draco frowned and rolled his eyes, ignoring her. Hermione huffed angrily. Didn't he understand how important this was? They could _not_ get into trouble right now. They shouldn't be drawing attention to themselves. Now she would have to go and fix his mess. Hermione quickened her pace a bit, attempting to walk next to the woman.

"Miss," she began, "what my _friend_ meant when he said that we were 'just passing through' was that we-"

"Were on a road trip and the car careened out of control into the forest and you were trying to find help?"

"Er…" Hermione paused, frowning. "No…"

"Perhaps you've lost your dog then."

"No, we-"

"You're backpacking across the world and this forest was your newest location. No? Maybe then aliens abducted you two years ago and after performing their heinous experiments on you, they dropped you off in the middle of the forest. Did you get in some trouble with the Mafia and they threw you off in the middle of nowhere expecting you to die slowly? Or better yet you have absolutely no clue how you got here, the last thing you remember was binge drinking at your cousin Vince's pool party." The woman slowed as they came to a clearing. The small girl ran over to a large moss covered rock, sitting on it and admiring the flowers she had picked on the walk. The woman turned to face Hermione and Draco.

"Amnesiacs?" she questioned. "Bird watchers? Environmentalists? Archeologists? Wet land researchers? Or just plain psychotic?" Hermione opened her mouth once again, still trying to get a word in edgewise.

"Don't bother," the woman said, cutting her off once more. "I've heard it all, and quite frankly I could care less about your or anyone else's pathetic excuses anymore. They don't matter." She stretched out her arm. "Let me see your bags." Hermione frowned slightly.

_What does she want with our bags? _Hermione gazed at the woman warily.

"I don't think-" The woman shook her head sharply.

"No. Give me your bags or turn around now. You don't get a step further without handing them over." Hermione considered this.

_We don't have that much in the bags anyway. Food, clothes._ She could perhaps explain away the potions. Hopefully that was the only thing relatively magic in there. Hermione glanced over at Draco who still had his bag on his shoulder. He stared back at her for a moment before looking at the woman, studying her again. Finally he gave a small sigh.

"Whatever you want," he said in a soft voice, glancing at Hermione. Hermione gave a slight nod and looked back at the woman, before slowly taking her bag off her shoulder and handing it to the waiting hand as Draco did the same. The woman pursed her lips.

"Good," she said, opening the bags up as the two waited a bit apprehensively.

_Finally_, the woman mused, searching though Hermione and Draco's' bags. She had known they'd give her their bags eventually. Too desperate, and too much to lose.

_Looks like runaways. Maybe got into some sort of trouble too, seems like they packed in a rush. Clothes, food, the normal._ _A GPS is a bit unusual but something like that was bound to come up. They wouldn't be here if not, would they?_ The woman almost paused as her eyes glanced over two small empty vials. _They're glass. You don't see much of that anymore. _She frowned slightly as she continued searching through the two bags, her mind still on the vials. _Surely they couldn't be- But they must-_ She shook the thoughts out of her head. She had left that world a long time ago. The woman closed the bags, handing them back to their owners.

"Follow me," she said, turning and striding off once more. Hermione and Draco looked at each other, relief etched into their faces, before following the woman again.

* * *

"I saw the GPS you had, so I take it you already know you're going to St. Jude?" Hermione nodded. 

"Yes."

"It's virtually 'the middle of nowhere' as you would say. However,", she sighed, "people tend to show up all the time. At the most unexpected times, in the most unexpected ways. And all different kinds of people from all different types of places. And each with their own story. The unwritten rule here, _Don't ask, Don't tell_."

The small group stepped out of the forest, as the trees stopped abruptly. A small white cottage was to their right near the forest, appearing almost to be fairytale-like. A flowering apple tree was set off from the house, filling the air with the faint aroma of the crisp fruit. Opposite the tree, a large vegetable garden sat, surrounded by a tiny white fence. Everything from cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes could be seen ripening in the dawning morning sun. They passed by the by the small backyard, reaching the front of the cottage. White and pink roses bloomed on the sides of the house underneath the open shutters of the windows. Matching white stepping stones created a walkway leading from the house's soft pink front door to a small worn down path, that went through a cluster of small trees, bushes, and flowers. The woman led them pass the fairytale cottage and instead guided them through the short pathway. The sightline of the town greeted them; the sun peaking over the horizon.

"That," the woman said, finally turning to them," was my house. This, is the rest of the town. Welcome to St. Jude." The little girl ran next to the woman, tugging on her pants.

"Grand-mère, are we going to mama's now?" The woman nodded and the girl ran ahead happily. She turned again to Hermione and Draco.

"I'll take you to _The Tiger Lily Inn_. Most newcomers go there at first."

* * *

The group walked across the shiny black gravel that filled the path to a large olden-looking inn. An oval sign swung over its double oak doors, the words _The Tiger Lily_ were painted in dark green Old English letters. The beautiful wooden building looked almost like a large mansion, yet also seemed to have a rather warm, homey feeling about it. Sprawling green lawns stretched all about them, surrounding the entire building, with flowers and trees lining the edges of the property. Pushing through the doors of the inn, they stepped onto the deep crimson lobby carpets. Draco and Hermione surveyed the room. Several people were relaxing in armchairs, chatting or reading. Some looked up as the group walked in, their eyebrows raised, before turning back away, their chatter taking a more excited tone. The lobby looked like an oversized living room, with the atmosphere very relaxed. It seemed almost as if everyone knew each other. 

"Mama, mama, mama!" the small girl called, bounding away from the group. She ran over to a woman standing behind the inn's huge mahogany front desk. The woman had long strawberry blond hair like her daughter's and her eyes sparkled as she let out a tinkling laugh, scooping up the excited girl as she ran over. The rest of the group also made their way over to the desk.

"Aww," the woman cooed, sitting the child on the counter, "back from Grand-mère's already? I hadn't expected you for another couple of hours." The little girl's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"_I_ had an adventure," she said proudly. The mother grinned just as wickedly.

"Did you now? Well, go on, tell me all about it." The girl needed no more prompting as she launched into her story, speaking rapidly in French with a sprinkle of English. The woman listened, enraptured, never taking her eyes off her excited daughter, nodded and laughing and gasping at each new discovery in the story. "And just where are those new people now?" the woman asked, as the child's speaking ceased, her face flushed. The girl turned quickly, pointing, before realizing with a small squeak that the group was already right behind her. She slid of the desk and instead stood next to her mother, balancing on her tiptoes, her eyes barely peeking over the top of the desk. The woman looked affectionally down at her daughter before turning that same warm smile onto the group.

"Hello," she said cheerfully, her voice rumbling with a slight French accent. "I see grand-mère has brought in some newcomers. I'm quite glad for it too." She leaned in secretively, whispering. "This place has been mighty boring for awhile if you ask me." She gave another one of her tinkling laughs. "Virginie tells me she found you in the forest and brought grandmother to you. I hope she didn't scare you too bad." The older woman scowled.

"I did nothing of sort, Marie." Marie rolled her eyes.

"Of course not Grand-mère," she said amusedly, before giving a sly wink to Hermione and Draco. Hermione grinned and Draco's countenance softened. The woman seemed to radiate warmth and affection to anyone surrounding her. She had such an unassuming and inviting ambience about her that they instantly felt at ease. The woman spotted the bags on their shoulders and glanced at the older woman.

"I trust you've already _thoroughly_ examined their bags, of course," she said in an exasperated tone. The older woman narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, they're acceptable." Marie looked back at the newcomers.

"Oh don't worry about all that, grandmother here just likes to make sure we aren't letting in any crazed serial killers or anything like that."

"I am not suspicious, simply careful," the older woman retorted.

"Yes, yes. Careful indeed. But, in all this 'carefulness' Grand-mere, I must ask you, did you even bother to ask them their names?" The other woman sighed, peering her eyes at Marie as if she was trying hard not to roll them.

"Marie, I am going to the library room, you may send Virginie when you're ready." And with that the woman turned away from the group, walking off down one hallway, her overcoat billowing behind her. Marie smiled after the woman before turning her attention back to the pair.

"Don't mind, Grand-mère. She's actually really quite sweet. She just doesn't show it all the time. Surprisingly enough I think she likes you two though. Trust me, it may not seem like it to you, but I've know her for a long while. She does. Anyway, since it's obvious she didn't make them, I guess I'll have to do the introductions. I'm Marie, I'm the manager of the inn. This is my daughter, Virginie." She gestured to the small child beside her. "That was Grandmother, or rather Ms. Davire." The woman held out her hand.

"And you two are?" Hermione pulled out the first names she could think of.

"Guinevere," she said quickly, before more calmly nodding to Draco. "And this is Aidan." Hermione shook the woman's outstretched hand. "But you can call me Gwen."

"Great. Well, let me just find an open room for you two and then you can get settled in." Hermione paled slightly at this.

"Actually, the thing is," Hermione paused, hoping this new revelation wouldn't completely destroy their good luck, "We don't have any money on us. And certainly not enough to stay at a place like this." Hermione finished, glancing around the beautiful room. Marie laughed softly.

"Oh nonsense. Most everybody stays here at first. Don't worry about the cost of anything, everything is on us until you get on your feet." Maria finished typing some things into the computer before pulling out two cards and swiping them. "And don't even think about refusing. Where else are you going go?" Marie handed them their key cards. "Go down this hall to the elevator, then to the 6th floor and make a right. Now shoo." Hermione smiled gratefully, turning to walk in the direction of the elevators. Draco fingered his card for a moment before looking up at the woman.

"Thank you," he said softly. Marie gave him a small smile, leaning a bit over the counter.

"You're welcome," she whispered back. She straightened up, her eyes gleaming wickedly. "Now go on, your girlfriend is waiting for you." Draco opened his mouth to deny it, the horror evident on his face. "No, no, no," the woman said, waving a finger at him, her smile as wicked as her eyes. "Just go on," she called, disappearing into a back room behind the desk before Draco could respond. The little girl followed her mother, giving Draco a tiny half wave before ducking her head once more and disappearing into the room. Draco stared at the spot behind the desk for a moment in stunned silence before slowly turning and walking over to the elevators. Hermione pressed the 'up' button as Draco came to stand next to her. The elevator sounded as its golden doors opened. Hermione and Draco stared at the small empty space. Neither moved.

"So I guess this is it," Hermione said.

"I guess so." They glanced at each other.

"A new life," Draco whispered after a moment.

"Are you ready?" Hermione questioned.

"I suppose." The doors started to slowly close. They watched them, motionless.

"Then I guess we should go."

"Yeah." They glanced at each other again, before Draco suddenly struck out his hand, stopping the doors right before they finally closed. They sprung back open. And then the two stepped past the golden doors into the elevator, into their new future, into their new life, together.

* * *

**A.N.** Just a few things… 

1. I need a bit of help for the next chapter! Hate to give anything away, but like Hermione was in the 'pureblood world' for just a bit, Draco is now going be in the Muggle world of course. So there will be some things he will need to learn about and experience etc. I've already got few things going, but anything that you think Draco might encounter being a wizard in a Muggle world would be helpful. If I don't use it the next chapter, I'll probably use it in later ones. Help is really appreciated!

2. Sorry about the whole 'truce' thing, I can barely stand the word anymore. I know, I know it's horribly cliché thing for Dramione stories, but don't worry they in no way are going to become instantly all nice and friendly.

3. A note about the last chapter: When I skimmed it over just after it was posted, I realized at the end the voice was saying somthign that began as 'Gra-' surprisingly enough it was only after the fact that I posted that I realized that could have been interpreted as something starting to say 'Granger'… so that was a bit weird.

4. And last, but certainly not least I would like to give a big THANKS to all my reviewers! 


	14. Out of Your Element: The Tiger Lily

**A.N.** Yes, I know it's been forever. I am sorry it took so long. Junior year was exceptionally hard on me. I really do appreciate everyone who reads this story. But aren't you glad I haven't given up?

… Does anybody actually remember what's going on? -sigh- I'm doing the best I can.

_**Important Note:**_ The Mysterious Character from **Chapter 10** returns this chapter (it was the one of the pov's that nobody could really tell who it was)

Opinions please? Should I keep the second genre as Adventure or change it back to General… What do people expect in Adventure?

A thanks goes out to Sakura A. Moon for being my beta reader!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**The Tiger Lily**

* * *

Hermione and Draco stepped onto the 6th, floor gazing down the two hallways. Hermione glanced at the yellow sticky note on her card. 

"628," she remarked. Draco pulled his card out.

"Same here." They stared down rather mournfully at their cards.

"So I guess that means we're roomies." Their shoulders sagged and they let out a long sigh.

"Great," they mumbled simultaneously. Hermione and Draco glanced at each other, eyebrows raised slightly, before heading down the right hallway.

"622, 624, 626," Hermione counted, "628. Here it is." Draco watched as she slid the card into a gold colored contraption on top of the door handle, tensing as he remembered Marie's last comment to him. He had been fairly sure she was just joking, but what if she had only given them one-

Hermione swiftly removed the card, throwing the door open. Draco's eyes widened for a moment before he relaxed in relief, spotting the _two_ beds. Hermione and Draco walked forward, entering the soft crème colored room. Draco absentmindedly traced his fingers over the room's deep blue trim lining the walls as Hermione brushed quietly pass him, going over to the wide window centered on the back wall. Pulling back the long, light blue curtain, she gazed outside.

"You can see most of the town from over here," she said, mostly to herself. Hermione sighed, turning away from the window and instead glancing at the two beds on either side of her. They were both positioned next to each other with only a small dark, nightstand between them. Identical light blue blankets lay on the beds with piles of fluffy pillows, their colors matching the curtains and wall trim. A small sea-green pillow with the words, _The Tiger Lily,_ stitched on them was centered in the pile.

"Do you care which bed you have?" she asked, looking over at Draco. He shrugged, still looking out the small window on the right side of the room, before instead opening the door next to it, which turned out to be a closet. Hermione laid her bag down, lying on the bed farthest from him, near the door on the other side of the room, which she assumed to be the bathroom. She took a long deep breath, snuggling into pillows on top of the covers. Hermione closed her eyes, not believing how tired she suddenly felt. _Well I did get up rather early this morning._ She yawed, drifting off almost instantly.

Draco closed the closet door, setting his bag down on the dresser beside it, under the windows. He glanced at the front door, spotting a large TV stationed beside it. He shook his head; he had enough of Muggles and their TV for now. _Maybe later…_ Draco turned around, seeing Hermione laying on one of the beds. Draco sat on the other one and glanced at the clock next to the small lamp on the nightstand.

"What are we going to do now?" Draco asked, glancing up at Hermione. She was on her side, her back towards him.

"Granger?" Draco paused, hearing no response except her steady breaths. He sighed, slipping off his shoes and removing his jacket. Lying down on the bed, he gazed across at Hermione, her body rising and falling slightly with each breath. She let out a sleepy sigh, clutching her pillow tighter to her. Draco continued to watch her back for a few moments before shaking his head slightly and turning over away from her_. I guess we're going to 'sleep' now._ Draco yawned, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Draco's eyes blinked open and he found himself staring up at the crème ceiling. He frowned slightly. _Crème?_ Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. _The inn. Of course._ He stared up at the ceiling momentarily before lazily turning over and looking across the room. Granger was still fast asleep on the bed a few feet from him. She must have turned over while she was asleep because her back was no longer facing him. Her long, wavy hair had broken free of its ponytail and was now wildly strewn across her pillows. Draco smirked, gazing at the chaotic tangle. _Now that's typical Granger._ Though messy, her hair seemed almost to flow around her, framing her face softly. Her cheeks were flushed lightly, with her lips ever so slightly parted as she took small, even breaths. Draco found himself just staring at her, from the mess of hair that seemed to fit just her so perfectly, to exploring every inch of her sleeping face; her blushing cheeks, her delicate nose, her parted lips, her softly closed eyes. She looked so peaceful, just lying there. 

_She never looks like that._

Draco realized that in the past couple months, even perhaps most of the school year, he had rarely seen her look so calm, so serene. Everything seemed to be falling apart. Everything with the war, especially with her being so close to the 'Boy-Who-Lived-To-Die', her friends, her muggle family, and now finding out about half her life being a lie. _And with Granger always having to 'care' about everything…_

Draco bit his lip slightly.

… _and everyone…_

Draco continued to gaze, taking in the moment. No, he hadn't seen her this peaceful in a long time.

Light streamed in slightly through the window above them, casting shadows over the now dim room. As it came across the beds the light seemed to accent each part of her, almost making her seem to glow. Draco found his face fading into a small smile as he stared. He knew he had been looking for too long, but for some reason, he didn't find the need to look away.

_She's-_ Hermione gave a small yawn, twisting around in her bed a bit before snuggling back down to sleep. Draco blinked, ceasing to finish his thought. Sitting up, he glanced out the window. They must have been sleeping awhile because it looked like it was almost dark outside. The lights on all the shops near the inn were lit and Draco could see people walking around outside. Standing, Draco stretched a bit, looking around the room again. Glancing at the door that led to the bathroom, he decided to take a shower considering he really had nothing better to do. Grabbing some clothes out of his backpack Draco went over to the bathroom and shut the door behind him without a single glance spared over to Hermione.

**

* * *

**

Draco came out of the bathroom muttering grumpily. He was still getting used to his new hair. Every time he would glance at himself in the mirror he had to stop and take it in. It was nice, he would admit, but still… Doing his hair was another ordeal. Usually Draco went through many products to keep his hair at utmost perfection. Here however, at this so-called _inn_, he had been forced to use mediocre shampoos that came in unbelievably small plastic bottles. Then once he had finally finished that, it was his normal routine to towel dry his hair, then air dry it for a small while, and then do a drying charm with his wand.

The first two steps went relatively okay, but obviously, he ran into a slight problem when it came to the last one. That was when he had been forced to consider the large white contraption hanging on the side of the wall. It had the phrase 'HairDryer' in red letters on it, but Draco had his doubts. Tentatively, he had removed it from the wall and found the button labeled 'power'. Remembering the remote at Granger's house, Draco pushed the button. As a loud roaring over took the bathroom, he jumped back in surprise, almost dropping the Muggle device. However, feeling the hot air blowing out of it first with his hand, he then cautiously proceeded to dry his hair. And now, as he was walking out of the bathroom, Draco grudgingly had to admit, that even with the mediocre shampoos, lack of appropriate extra conditioners and lotions, and forced use of a Muggle device, his hair came out exactly the same as it had the past 16 years of his life.

Sitting down on the edge of his bed, Draco ran his hand through his hair once more, looking around. And what to do now? Draco glanced back at the still sleeping Hermione. Sighing, he pulled his pillow into his lap, resting his elbows upon it. He was not about to sit here while Granger slept her life away. It also could be that he didn't want to catch himself staring at her again, not that he'd ever admit it. Glancing back at the fluffy pillow in his lap, a slow smirk spread over his face. Picking it up in one hand, he lifted it up in the air, took careful aim, and threw it straight at Hermione's peacefully sleeping head.

Hermione gave a loud shout, shooting straight up in her bed. Draco began to laugh loudly, holding his sides as she looked around wildly. Hermione turned towards him in confusion before her eyes widened slightly in recognition. Giving an indignant shriek, she grabbed the pillow from beside her and whipped it at Draco's head. Draco stopped in mid laugh, his mouth hanging open slightly, a look of pure shock on his face. His previously so perfect hair was mussed slightly, its dark strands cascading down the front of his face. Hermione covered her mouth with one hand, giggling madly at his expression. Draco blinked, snapping out of it. Narrowing his eyes at her, he stood, grabbing the thrown pillow and threw it straight at her. Sitting back down, he smirked smugly at Hermione's reddening face. Hermione glared at him before giving a small smirk of her own, nodding slightly. Draco's own smirk faded as a slight cold dread filled the pit of his stomach.

"Oh that is _it_," Hermione whispered menacingly before standing, pillow in hand and advancing toward Draco. Draco's eyes widened before he scrambled backward over the other side of the bed, grabbing a pillow as he went. Hermione scampered over the bed quickly, only to receive another thwack from Draco. Hermione got in a hit of her own before Draco ran around the bed to the other side of the room. Voicing shrieks of laughter and outrage, jumping over beds, and simply running around room, the pillow fight continued for several minutes, causing the poor old couple below them to worry a bit.

Both Hermione and Draco were becoming considerably out of breath by this point and Hermione, who was taking a small rest from beside the TV, suddenly decided to make a run for it, jumping on her own bed then leaping to Draco's bed, sending her pillow crashing down on the unsuspecting boy in the middle. Hermione laughed again sticking out her tongue before Draco smirked almost playfully back and hit his pillow across her knees, causing her to fall back down upon the bed. Quickly, Hermione rolled herself off the bed onto the floor, before Draco could strike again. Hiding under the bed, laughing and panting slightly, Hermione waited cautiously as Draco jumped on the bed. Scrunching up tightly next to her pillow Hermione simply smiled at Draco, who was peering down at her. Thinking she had won a rest, Hermione relaxed a bit, but then let out a shrill shriek when she felt something… tickling her feet?! Hermione continued to laugh, becoming more hysterical by the moment and finally scooting out from under the bed. Draco hopped off the bed, tackling her back down to floor as she tried to stand.

"You didn't think you could hide from me, did you Granger?" he asked, tilting his head sideways, a grin on his face. Draco leaned closer to Hermione who was still laughing quietly. "Who's the king of pillow fighting now?" He tilted his ear near her mouth. "Say it." Hermione shook her head. "Granger…" Draco sing-songed. He leaned even closer.

"Never," Hermione whispered. He could feel her warm breath ghost over his ear, sending a slow shiver down his spine. Still, he would not be deterred. He lifted his head a bit, looking at her. She was still panting ever so slightly, a wide smile on her face and little bursts of laughter coming out every so often. Her eyes were half lidded with mirth, her cheeks bright and rosy, and her hair flowed around her chaotically, yet perfectly. Draco leaned even closer once more, barely catching himself before their noses touched.

"Say it Granger," he whispered. "Or else."

"Or else what?" Hermione questioned just as softly, opening her eyes a bit more. Draco stared at her. He could feel his heart beating erratically in his chest. He swore he could almost hear it. They were _so_ close. If he just leaned down a bit more they could actually-

Draco stopped mid-thought. What was he doing? What was he _thinking_? This was 'know-it-all-bushy-haired-best-friends-with-Potter' Granger. They should be fighting and throwing insults by now, not rolling around on the floor laughing. Draco looked again at the girl lying beneath him. She was struggling slightly, but he had her pinned with almost no effort. He racked his brain for something to say to her, something to break this impossible scene he was in, but as she cocked her head to the side, looking up at him, Draco found that staring into those pools of melted chocolate, he didn't want to insult her anymore, didn't have to. Draco shook his head slowly, still staring at her. Hermione had stilled and was now just calmly resting underneath him. It was too surreal. Draco realized that somewhere along the way Granger had changed from 'know-it-all-bushy-haired-best-friends-with-Potter' Granger to 'know-it-all-bushy-haired-huge-part-of-Draco's-life' Granger. His current situation was impossible, yes, wrong even, but nothing seemed to matter so much in that exact moment. He felt almost relaxed, like this was how things were supposed to be and for once he was just going to let go and just…

Draco breath caught at his thought and he pulled himself out of Hermione's eyes. He stopped his thoughts, not wanting to continue.

"Whose the king of pillow fighting?" he whispered once more. Hermione smiled slightly, an almost mischievous look in her eyes. She shrugged her shoulders.

"You are."

"Excellent," Draco responded. He leaned down a bit and for the briefest of moments their breaths mingled, its soft warmth caressing their cheeks before he lifted himself up and rolled over, lying next to her. They lay there for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.

Hermione was the first to move, slowly rising and leaning against the bed, a faint blush gracing her cheeks. "Well, I guess," Hermione started, avoiding Draco's eyes slightly, "I'll go take a shower and then we'll do something…" she trailed off, fully standing up. Draco remained lying on the floor, looking up at her. He nodded. Hermione rifled through her bag, pulling out some clothes and retreated to the bathroom. Draco sighed.

"Don't take all day, Granger," he yelled as the door closed behind her. Draco rolled his eyes before frowning slightly, realizing he was still on the floor. Hadn't he already established that Malfoys didn't belong on floors? Draco stood, lying back on his now rumpled bed. What was it about situations involving Granger that had him always ending up on the floor?

**

* * *

**

Draco sighed for what seemed to be like the millionth time, as he stared up at the ceiling. He was completely and utterly bored and Granger was taking _forever._

…okay it had barely been five minutes, but still, he wanted to do _something_. Perhaps he could go downstairs and look around and just wait for Granger there, maybe find Marie and ask her about food or something. Draco sat up quickly. Yeah, that was it. He stood to yell out to Granger about his plan before stopping, frowning slightly. He remembered downstairs quite well... and all the strange things he saw down there… things he had _never_ seen before. Like that thing Marie was looking at before she gave them the keys. He had seen several other contraptions, some he remembered catching a glimpse at in Granger's house. _Muggle_ things. Draco sat back down on his bed as his stomach clenched with the realization that he was in an entirely unknown element here. He was a _Malfoy_, he was used to being superior in _everything_. But now... he knew _nothing_.

Draco glanced own at his clammy palms before clasping them together, his face hard. Malfoys do not fear. Yet Draco felt it in the depths of his stomach, slowly casting its cold tendrils though his body, piercing his heart. Suddenly, he had a flashback of little eleven-year-old Potter and himself before he had even known who Potter was. Draco had stood in all his snobbery in Madam Malkin's looking down at the boy who had never heard of Quidditch. _Quidditch_ of all things, the most common, well-known fact in his life. He remembered thinking the boy was a complete fool, maybe involved in some memory freak accident, or perhaps even mentally ill.

Draco shuddered to think what _they_ would think of him, not even knowing the most basic of things, that they too perhaps would think as he had thought of Potter. At least then Draco knew of muggleborns, he _knew_ that some people had no clue about the wizarding world. But muggles knew no such thing; this was _the_ world, and _everyone_ had _always_ lived in it. Draco lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes as more memories continued to barrage his mind.

Objects, people, sports, phrases, that he had never heard of. Draco snapped his head up as the bathroom door opened and Hermione stepped out.

How would he survive?

**

* * *

**

Hermione glanced over at Draco as she came out of the bathroom. She saw the oddest expression on his face before it disappeared, leaving him staring nonchalantly at nothing in particular. Hermione shook her head, dismissing it. She sat down on her bed across from Draco and glared at him slightly. "You used all the shampoo, you know." Draco snorted dismissively.

"So? I doubt their poor excuses for shampoo could have tackled that mass anyway." Hermione huffed indignantly.

"Whatever, Malfoy, you should just be glad I remembered to pack some of my own shampoo or else I would have really been in there forever." Hermione stood. "So let's go. I'm starving." Draco glanced away.

"And what if I don't want to go," he said, a hint of an edge in his voice. Hermione looked at him, surprised that she found herself surprised at his change in attitude. But _something_ was off. Hermione had two best friends as guys, who as many guys do, would not just come out and tell her what was actually bothering them. Hermione had an intuition about these types of things and she had learned that patience was the major key in dealing with their 'manly' problems. Draco Malfoy was no different. Hermione sat back down.

"So," she began, "what _do_ you want to do then?" Draco shrugged slightly while simultaneously his stomach gave a loud growl. Draco resisted the immense urge to glare down at his stomach. _Traitorous tummy_. Hermione grinned. _No way he can get out of it now._ "So you _are_ hungry. Come on let's go. Draco crossed his arms.

"No." Hermione could almost see the small beginning of a childlike pout. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Boys. You're so stubborn." Hermione lay on her bed. "You remind me of Ron for goodness sakes," she mumbled. Hermione stifled a grin, seeing the absolutely horror-stricken look come upon Draco's face.

"That's disgusting, Granger. Please, don't ever, _ever_ compare me to your obnoxious boyfriend". Hermione frowned.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend." She gave a small huff, turning her gaze to the ceiling. Draco raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"Trouble in trio paradise?" Hermione scowled slightly.

"No," she paused. "I'm just tired of everyone assuming he's my boyfriend that's all. I don't even know if I still-" Hermione stopped short, her cheeks turning slightly pinkish.

"You don't know if you still what, Granger? If you're still hopelessly head over heels for your red-haired weasel?" Hermione glared at the wall beside her, avoiding Draco's mischievous stare. "Hmm… Perhaps another has caught your eye? Perhaps a certain famous scarhead that we both know?"

"No." Hermione said vehemently, looking at Draco. He smirked. Hermione let out another huff, rolling her eyes. "What is it with people? If it's not Ron, then it's always Harry. I don't understand why people can't leave our friendship alone. I'm tired of everyone always whispering about us and making up rumors. I'm tired of them always-"

"-expecting things." Draco cut in, raising an eyebrow. Hermione frowned slightly.

"Yeah." She sighed. "I mean- I always thought Ron and I- certain things I used to find so-" Hermione gave another frustrated sigh. "But now it just seems so-" Hermione rolled her eyes, irritated. "He's just so immature all the time, and he says things and does thing and I just can't believe I ever-" Draco sat back on his bed, pulling his feet up, watching Hermione in her oblivious rant.

"Maybe you never did Granger." Hermione looked at him slightly confused. "Maybe you never did like Weasley anyway." Hermione opened her mouth to respond. Draco gave her a pointed look. "I know a few things about _expectations_, Granger. And unlike you, I'm not specifically involved somehow in this situation, so let me tell you how it is," Draco drawled.

"You are _best_ friends with the entire Wizarding world's savior, their golden boy. By mere association this makes you, as well as Weasley unfortunately, in a word: _famous_. Meaning now the entire Wizarding public has the _right_ to dictate your entire life, until of course they get tired of you or you're no longer famous. Correct?" Hermione gave a wary half nod.

"Good. Now because the entire world has a right to shape your life how they want it, everything must be perfect. But sadly, there is a slight problem. You see, you Granger are what _some_ people _might_ refer to as a _girl_. Now let's see, 'a girl is best friends with two guys only platonically'. Not going to work. But you turn out to be 'one of the smartest witches of you generation', so they very well can't get rid of you, you might be important later on in helping their savior defeat You-Know-Who. So they go for the next best thing: the so-called 'platonic relationship'. But now the public comes to another crossroads; a topic where they are sadly still going back and forth on by the way. Should they pick their one and only Boy-Who-Just-Couldn't-Die, or his haplessly foolish and loyal, dirt poor friend? Well a general consensus was made that it would be the latter. Why? Well because Potter's story is so tragic and depressing that people seem to like having their hero in constant angst. So now they have their perfect image. The great boy wonder standing alone, front and center, ready to save them all once again, with his faithful sidekicks behind him, joined in hopelessly pure love."

Hermione rolled his eyes and shifted her position, now leaning against her headboard. "The entire world is not a conspiracy." Draco smirked.

"Au contraire, Granger, au contraire. 'Conspiracy' might be a bit strong, but trust me it's there. Probably even before you were old enough to know what romance was- The little whispers of how cute you two looked together- and all those arguments, well that just fueled the fire. They evolved from adorably idiotic bickering to full on romantic 'love spats', to just plain ol' 'sexual tension'." There was a pause as Hermione stared at Draco with slightly widened eyes as he stared blankly back. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Well I never thought you to be one to have such an imagination, Malfoy," she said, trying to sound confident, but only managing uncertainty and slight confusion.

"Okay Granger, think whatever you want," he said, using a rather amused tone. "But come on, think back and tell me when you first _actually_, _truly_, knew you liked Weasel. You know," he began in a mocking voice, "that whole, can't eat, can't sleep, the sweating palms and racing heart whenever you're near him. Your _thoughts_ always about him, your entire _soul_ lost in a whirlwind of emotions." Draco smirked. "And I'm not just talking about those tornados of anger you have Granger." Draco continued smirking as he watched Hermione turn slightly away from him, pulling her knees up against her. "Don't even worry about it Granger." He gave a contented sigh. "Personally I think it's a very good thing. I mean I get chills just imagining your kids: tons of little bushy-haired, redheaded, hot-tempered geniuses. Oh the horror." Draco glanced over at Hermione who looked as though she hadn't even heard him.

Hermione stared off into space as uneasiness settled in her stomach. So _maybe_ Malfoy was _slightly_ right about the whole Ron thing. But that wasn't even bothering her that much, she could have figured that one out on her own. But the whole, 'can't eat, can't sleep thing, the sweaty palms and racing heart'. Now that was something. _I don't think I've ever felt that way about anyone. _

"Aww, poor Granger." Hermione looked over at Draco, startled. She hadn't realized she had said it aloud. Hermione began to blush slightly. She glared at Draco.

"Oh, and like you have Malfoy." Hermione rolled her eyes at him, before turning away once more, thinking. Draco's smirk faded a bit and he turned away also. As he glanced around the room, the television once again caught his eye, reminding him of 'the Muggle problem'. Draco glanced over at Hermione. Perhaps while she was preoccupied...

Draco _hated_ sounding stupid, but he also hated not knowing something. He resisted the urge to bite his lip as he glanced over at Granger, who was still deep in thought. If he asked now, maybe she wouldn't notice...

"Hey Granger," he said in a casual tone.

"Yeah," she replied, sounding slightly distracted.

"What was that- that thing Marie was on? That she was looking at before she gave us our keys." Hermione glanced at him.

"Oh you mean the computer?" Draco nodded, relieved. No sarcastic comments or raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, the computer," he said, rolling the word around his tongue, tasting it. "The computer," he mumbled to himself. Hermione paused in her thoughts.

_Wait, did Draco Malfoy just say the word 'computer'?_

Hermione looked over at Draco who was sitting on his bed, a very pleased and relived look on his face. She gave a small gasp. _That was it!_ Hermione rolled her eyes, jumping off her bed.

_Boys and their stupid pride, can't they just ask for help when they need it?_

She shook her head, forcibly grabbing Draco's arm. Hermione looked at the look of shock and confusion on his face.

_No, I suppose they can't._

**

* * *

**

Hermione managed to get inside the elevator before Draco finally thought to rip his arm out of her grasp. Hermione just stared calmly ahead as Draco continued to look at her in bewilderment.

"What in the world is your problem Granger?!" Draco scowled, seeming to finally realize that they were headed downstairs. "I told you I don't want to go anywhere." He began to contemplate the rows of numbered buttons on the wall. Now which one...

Hermione stood in front of the buttons.

"Oh just stop being so stubborn Malfoy. Use your common sense for once. I know you're worried about not knowing things in the Muggle World. But like it or not we're going to be here for who knows how long. And I'm the only one you can ask about things without sounding like a complete imbecile." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Come on, I'm not going to expect you to actually know what a computer or any other Muggle thing is, in fact, I'd be kind of worried if you did." She sighed as the elevator doors opened. "You can't hide in the room forever, Malfoy," she said lowering her voice slightly as she stepped out into the lobby. She turned and looked at Draco, who was staring out at her expressionless, still in the elevator.

"Come on," she whispered to him, motioning with her head toward the lobby. She turned and walked away from him. And as she heard the soft sound of steps meet up with hers, she released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

**

* * *

**

Hermione and Draco approached the front desk. A new girl was standing behind the counter.

"Um, excuse me-" Hermione started. The girl gave an irritated sigh and looked up from her magazine, stopping in mid-turn.

"What?" she said, giving a rather loud pop with her pink bubble gum. Hermione gave the girl a slight glare.

"Would you happen to know where Marie is?" The girl stared at her blankly before popping her gum one more time.

"Oh, you must be the new people she was talking about." Hermione nodded. "Yeah, well she said to go down to Joe's. It's this diner cafe thing down the street. Just turn right outta here and you'll see it soon enough. Everything'll be put on the inn's tab. They'll be expecting you." She gave a flip of her long, perfectly straight brown hair and turned to go back to her magazine. Pausing as she stared down at the magazine, she dropped the page she had been holding. Slightly wide-eyed, she slowly looked back up, staring at Draco, who was leaning against the counter looking bored. She smiled brightly, closing her magazine and leaning slightly forward.

"Uh, hi," she said, breathlessly. "Can I, um, help you?" She flipped her hair again and lowered her eyelashes flirtatiously. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me, but I still had a question-"

"_Excuse me_," the girl snapped, sneering at Hermione slightly, "but I believe I am talking to _him_." She raised one manicured finger, pointing at Draco. She turned back toward Draco once again smiling prettily. "Now what can I do for you?"

Hermione gave a huff before glaring at the girl and pushing off the counter. She turned swiftly, moving closer to Draco.

"He," Hermione started, locking her eyes with the girl's, "is with me." She placed one hand on Draco's shoulder, lifting herself up slightly, so her mouth was almost brushing against his ear. She whispered something, holding the other girl's stare the entire time, before letting go and striding out the door. Draco tried to ignore the cool feeling left on his neck where Granger's warm breath had ghosted over. He raised an eyebrow, watching her as she disappeared outside.

**

* * *

**

Hermione leaned against the brick wall outside of the _Tiger Lily_, tapping her fingers impatiently. Getting off the wall she walked over to Draco as he came out of the doors. He held out a pack of note cards and a pen. Hermione began to take them, but Draco held on. He smirked.

"So what was that all about?" He leaned forward. "Jealous were we?" Hermione gave him a fierce glare, wrenching the cards out of his hand. Draco let go calmly.

"No," she spat. They began to walk past the inn's lawns. Hermione shrugged. "I just don't like being ignored that's all." Hermione gave another angry sigh, getting worked up again. "First she had that rude attitude and then she just wanted to pretend like I wasn't standing right in front of her?! The nerve! I'm mean _really_, what a hateful, air-headed magazine-reading, gum-chewing, hair-twirling-" Hermione let out a strangled cry. Draco rolled his eyes at her antics.

"Oh yeah Granger, you don't sound jealous at all." Hermione let out a sigh, calming herself down.

"She's a total bimbo." Draco stifled a snort.

"_Bimbo_, Granger? Oh come on don't you think that's a bit harsh? What solid proof do you actually have that she's a 'bimbo'?"

"Well anyone interested in you must be an idiot." Draco frowned, his eyes darkening. He stopped walking, turning to look at Granger. _How dare she-_ Draco paused, seeing the slight benevolent twinkle in her eye. With a start, he realized that she was _teasing_ him. Draco closed his mouth, stopping his angry retort as his frown turned into a look of confusion. _When-_

"This is it," Hermione said. "Joe's" Draco glanced at the window behind him and realized that they had indeed stopped in front of the restaurant. Hermione opened the door. "Let's go."

The two walked through the door, greeted by the loud hustle and bustle of the restaurant. There was a large circular bar in the middle of the wide room, with several people lounging around it. Others sat at the tall wooden tables, at the high stools that were around the room or at the booths near the windows. Music was playing overhead, but it was practically unintelligent over the loud conversation and bursts of laughter coming from the occupants. On the left side of the restaurant was obviously the kitchen, where various servers were coming in and out of. On the other end there were some low lying tables and couches, along with the pool table and oddly enough a chess board and several bookshelves. The pair made their way through the crowd and sat at an empty table in the corner. They relaxed for a moment in the chairs, taking in the atmosphere. It almost reminded them of the Three Broomsticks.

"Have ya'll been helped yet?" A woman had appeared next to their table. Hermione shook her head. "Okay then," the woman replied. "My name's Sandra, and I'll be your server today. What can I get you guys for drinks?"

"Pepsi please," Hermione said, shooting a glare over at Draco, who was opening his mouth to speak. "For the both of us," she added, looking back at Sandra.

"Got it," Sandra said, giving another beaming smile. "I'll be right back with those." She walked back into the crowd. Hermione turned her attention back to Draco.

"You know food and drinks here can be different too sometimes. You won't find pumpkin juice here, or butterbeer, or even, heaven forbid you were thinking it, firewhiskey." Draco gave a stiff nod, still looking rather tense. Hermione shook here head slightly. "Don't worry about it, trust me, this'll be fine. Slip-ups like that are easily explained simply by us being foreign. Here take a menu." She pulled two menus out of the small holder on the table. Draco took the small menu and began reading over it. His shoulders relaxed a bit as he saw quite a few things he recognized. He glanced over at Granger, who was staring at the menu intently, mumbling to herself. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Okay there Granger?" She looked up.

"Yeah. Here, give me your menu." Draco frowned.

"Why? I don't know what I'm ordering yet."

"Uh no, I think I'll order." Draco looked at her warily.

"I don't think so Granger…" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It won't kill you Malfoy," she said, reaching across the table for his menu. Draco yanked it back out of her reach. He smirked dangling it in the air. Hermione gave an exasperated sigh, leaning even further over the table. Draco scooted back, giving a small laugh.

"Come on Granger," he taunted, "is that the best you can do?" Hermione narrowed her eyes, growling ever so slightly. Draco's eyes widened incredulously. "Did you just _growl_ Granger?" Hermione ignored him, suddenly lunging across the table. Draco gave an almost girlish shriek, backing up as far as he could before his chair hit the wall behind him. Hermione was still reaching over the table.

"Give it to me!"

"I- don't- think so!" Draco said, waving the menu around wildly, trying to avoid Hermione's hands.

"Give!"

"No!"

"Give!"

"No!"

"Ahem." The pair froze, turning their heads slightly to see Sandra, waiting, drinks in hand. An amused smile was on her face as she looked down at the two.

"Oh, I'm so, er-" Hermione stammered, as she slid herself off the table and sat in her chair completely, her face blushing a fierce red. Draco quietly moved his chair back, avoiding the waitress' eyes. Sandra gave a small chuckle, setting the drinks down in front of them. "We are so sorry," Hermione started, still bright red. "I don't know- what-"

"Oh, it's okay. I totally understand," she said, a knowing look on her face. Draco slid further into his chair.

"Um, can we just have cheeseburgers and fries," Hermione said sheepishly.

"Sure thing," Sandra said, the knowing look still on her face. "I'll be back with your meal in a few." She looked at them one more time, before giving them a big wink and walking away. There was a paused as the two avoided looking at each other.

"Well that was interesting…" Hermione started, trailing off. Draco made a small noise before sitting back up in his chair.

"Okay, so what were the note cards for?" Hermione brightened.

"Right, the note cards. Well, Mal- er, _Aidan_," Hermione shook her head slightly, "I figured now was a good a time as any to start your," she lowered her voice a fraction, "Muggle training." Draco frowned slightly.

"Okay…"

"Good," Hermione replied, handing over some cards and a pen. "That's a pen, by the way, you write with it. Just think of it like a 21st century quill. The ink's inside so you don't need to dip the tip in a jar. Nobody uses quills anymore here. Oh, and there's also pencils, which are usually wooden instead of plastic. And they write with graphite and have erasers on the other end. There's no erasable spell here so with pens you can use white out- not very neat or effective- or an erasable pen, but they're not always the best-"

"Granger, you're rambling." Hermione stopped, giving a sheepish grin.

"Right, sorry, there's just so much to go over. Anyway, I figured we'd start with the basis for all things Muggle: electricity. Basically anything in the Muggle world that would seem to need magic to work, is run by electricity. It powers things." Hermione paused looking around. "Things like that," she said, pointing to a blender sitting behind the bar counters, "and that, and that," she continued to point to various objects. "Let's go back to the blender. By the way, it blends things. Fruits, vegetables, you can use it to make different drinks etcetera. Do you see the long rope-like thing coming out of it? Well that's an electrical cord; it plugs into the outlet behind it. Got it so far?" Hermione questioned. Draco nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I should warn you, never stick your finger or anything metal, except a plug of course, into an outlet." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"And just why not?" Hermione looked at him blankly.

"Well… it could kill you…" Draco gave a start.

"What?" he said incredulously. "And they just have these kinds of things lying around?!"

"Well they're basically just outlets for power. Just don't do anything stupid," Hermione said. "It's the same basic concept as lightning. You've heard of conductors right? Well, it's the same reason you don't want to be hit by lightning or stand in a huge puddle when there's a thunderstorm." Draco groaned, scribbling down more notes.

"What _else_ is there?" Hermione smirked.

"Oh don't tell me you're tired of learning already Aidan, we've still got to go over so many things. Computers, the internet, your basic kitchen appliances, electronics, foods, history, music, not to mention the things that are solely in the Magical world and then the things that only differ slightly." Hermione picked up the pen off the table. "Come on _Aidan_, start writing." Draco scowled, taking the pen.

"And stop calling me that ridiculous name." Hermione shrugged.

"We've got to get used to them, so we might as well practice so we don't slip up." Draco sighed. "Oh come on. It's the first two names I could think of, get over it, it's done now." Draco gave another scowl. Hermione grinned. "Good. About the internet…"

**

* * *

**

"So, dinner wasn't so bad, was it?" Hermione said to Draco as they walked down the street towards the inn.

"Eh," Draco made a non-committal noise. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh, sure Malfoy, you know you liked it. Come on, you downed like five different sodas. If I hadn't have stopped you who knows what kind of permanent damage that kind of sugar rush could have done to you." Draco gave a small smirk, shrugging his shoulders.

"What can I say Granger, the concept of sugar and carbonated bubbles is a fascinating concept." Hermione gave a mock gasp.

"Did you just compliment something muggle?"

"I really do think _you're_ the one with the sugar rush _Gwen_, because what in Merlin's name is a _muggle_?" Draco smirked, casting a sideways glance at Hermione. Hermione shrugged calmly.

"I don't know _Aidan_, just a word I made up I suppose. But just why exactly may I ask are you talking about 'Merlin"? That's a bit odd don't you think?" Hermione gave him a smirk of her own. Draco let out a small groan.

"I think this is going to be harder than we thought." Hermione gave a soft laugh, nodding.

"Definitely." The two turned onto the lighted walkway towards the inn, past the darkened rows of hedges. Hermione sighed.

"Great. Just when I'm finally getting that horrid girl out of my system, it's time for encounter number two. Draco smirked.

"Aww, still jealous Gwen?" Hermione rolled her eyes. Draco swung an arm around her shoulder. "Whatever Gwen, you know you _so_ want me," he whispered mockingly in her ear. Hermione looked up at him, her eyes wide and adoring.

"Oh dear, you've caught me Aidan darling. I've secretly wanted you this whole time," she said breathily. They stopped walking, Draco leaning even closer into Hermione.

"Really Gwen? Really?" he gushed, adding into the theatrics. Hermione stepped it up a notch, clutching desperately onto the front of his shirt.

"Oh _yes_ Aidan, more than _anything_," she whispered, leaning even closer. The pair paused, realizing their position. Hermione slowly loosened her grip on Draco's shirt and stepped away as he lifted his hands off her shoulders and stepped back also. They avoided each other's eyes. Hermione gave a small cough, shifting from one foot to the other.

"That was… _awkward_." Draco looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yeah_." They walked the few feet to front door, Draco opening it.

"Let's not-" Hermione started, walking into the inn, "Let's not do or mention that _ever_ again." Draco nodded.

"Definitely not," he said, letting the door close behind them.

**

* * *

**

I was not _lurking_.

I was merely… _observing_… near the hedges… hidden in the shadows… with people passing me by completely oblivious to my presence… See, I was only…

…lurking. What can I say it's something I've always done well.

I arrived just a few hours ago and then found out all of their information pretty quickly. News travels quick around here: They were found sometime this morning. Staying at the Tiger Lily. Hadn't been seen for hours, most likely asleep. Maria, the owner, supposedly was going to go to tell them to Joe's, some diner down the street.

After that they were bound to come back here. They were new, it was night; I don't think there would be much exploring going on yet. So I waited. And waited. Watched countless people stroll by me, immersed in their own little happy world, completely unaware that there was a little devil in the shadows that could blast them to pieces with a wave of his-

And then I heard it. Her laugh. Even after all these years, somehow it still sounded exactly the same. I felt _it_ quiver inside me. Bringing up lost memories…

I was just nine when I got my first 'very important' mission. My time to prove myself to the family. To make sacrifices for it. We lived in Italy. My family was your typical filthy-rich, muggle-hating, pureblood family, with all our filthy-rich, muggle-hating, pureblood family friends… no 'friends' was too strong, more like… connections. Connections were very important in our world. The only important thing. You needed connections everywhere in order to survive. The Delavontá's were one of our international connections in France. We weren't exactly on equal footing (the Delavontá's were higher up in the social food chain than us) but still we were high enough to be on good terms with. And when the scandal struck… we were the first ones to know… the _only_ ones to know. Not about the Azkaban sentence or the baby girl, no everybody who was anybody knew about that. But we knew a bit extra, we knew who the girl _was_.

Hermione Granger living with her muggle family in England.

Now the Delavontás wanted someone to keep an eye on her. They had their ways for awhile. But now that she was getting older, they wanted someone… closer. That is of course where I came in. The Grangers started sending Hermione to a slightly posh muggle summer camp in England. My family informed me of the entire Delavontá-Granger situation and told me I was supposed to get to know her. It was an odd situation. I wasn't necessarily supposed to become friends with her per say, just look over her. I wasn't there to protect her either (none of the people who had worked with the Delavontás before were to either). I wasn't really even to get involved. I just needed to know _her_, her habits, her routine. Now that I look back on it, I wonder if the Delavontás were just normal grandparents, dying for a small insight into their unreachable granddaughter's life.

…but then of course that would mean they would actually have to have hearts. And everyone knows purebloods have their hearts removed at birth and keep them hidden away in a jar somewhere.

I was supposed to alarm them if I saw any suspicious (a.k.a. magical) characters around, but that never happened. The arrangement was of the utmost secrecy and the Delavontás were _very_ good at what they did.

So that summer I was sent to Clearwaters Camp armed only with a huge suitcase, a slight glamour spell, no wand, and my charming nine year-old personality. Oh, and a loose bond. That's where the _sacrifice_ came in.

Bonds are very tricky, dangerous spells. Dangerous, but useful if you don't let some rather unnecessary thoughts of morality get in the way. That's why most of them are illegal. They should only be performed by an experienced witch or wizard on another magically mature witch or wizard. Let me inform you, incase you didn't know… nine year-old wizards, no matter how pure their blood is, are not magically mature.

The bonding itself was painful, I couldn't leave bed for days. I thought I was dying… now that I think about it I probably was. It was like a part of your very soul was being ripped away. _She_, of course, felt none of this. We simply used a vial of her blood (I don't even want to inquire as to how the Delavontás got that) along with the potion and bonded _me_ to _her_. Not mutually bonded, not _her_ to _me_, just me to her… f_orever_… but then again… most bonds are. But I did it, because I had to. Choices are very _limited_ in my family.

I got to know her, everything about her. I was perfectly in tune to her. Where she was, what she was doing, what she was feeling, everything. The bond did crazy things to me though. Mentally. Physically. I suppose its effects made me seem rather strange sometimes, though I managed to hide most of it. But perhaps it was that strangeness that seemed to draw her to me so easily. But what drew _me_ to _her_… I imagined it was just another effect of the bond. But the things I thought… about her… everything I began to think about her… it wasn't normal. Not even with the bond.

It wasn't when I was nine of course, but when I was older… but I never allowed myself to get any closer than necessary. But we both were like moths to flames; drawn to each other, inexplicably. We were never quite friends, never quite _more_. In fact, we seemed to exist in this odd sort of realm in between everything and anything I'd ever known. The feeling of connection was always there, because of the bond. But the possessiveness, the feeling that she was mine and mine alone, no matter how far or close I ever was to her… that was something entirely different. It got worse as I got older, as she got older, yet somehow she was still so young. I never allowed myself to indulge. I was there for a job, a purpose. But I did give myself one thing. One highly forbidden thing. But one thing I simply had to take. It was the last day of my last summer at Clearwaters. I had just turned 16, she was going to be 14 in a few weeks. I took one solitary indulgence. One solitary fiery kiss. Before I walked out of her life forever, and she out of mine.

Or so I thought. Apparently not though, as I watched her come around the corner with none other than Draco Malfoy. I had heard a bit about the Malfoy family before, because of the impending marriage with Christina and all. I read up some more before I came. Pureblood. Rich. Influential. The father belonged to a group called the Death Eaters, led by some half-human

Voldemort. Apparently, the father was very high up in the ranks. The entire group was starting up a rather big stir. Not just in England though, by now it had spread out to surrounding areas. But our family is still a bit too far to have anything to do with Voldemort. A good deal believe in what he's trying to do though. Some even moved to England to join in. Idiots. I hate muggles and mudbloods as much as the next person, but even I know a mad man when I see one. Though I keep that to myself. No need making extra enemies.

After I left camp I got back to a normal life, well as normal as it could be, with the effects of my childhood still lingering. The emotional whirlwinds. The terrifying (for other people) bouts of anger. The increase in physical and magical strength. The intense fascination and exceptional ability with the dark arts. But most everyone forgot everything. Forgot what I had done each summer since I was 9. Forgot the bond that they had so painstakingly formed. With such prolonged absence from her, I forgot it too. I was able to block out that tiny feeling inside of me, the twisting, the pulling, like tiny sparks of power. Then a few days ago I was reminded that it was still there. Out of nowhere it felt like something was being wrenched away from inside of me. Then it the feeling of the bond began to grow fainter everyday. The bond was supposed to be for forever. Now something was happening to it. I had to find out why. So I left. My parents rarely paid any attention to my whereabouts now. I could go for months without contacting them.

We were no longer close contacts with the Delavontás as before, but I found out about the new Delavontá situation and the escape. I followed the bond, feeling it getting stronger as I got closer. Not an easy process apparating to different continents and countries, but being apart of my soul I could tell even the slightest change in the bond, and eventually I found her.

I watched the two enjoying a playful banter, ending up in each other's arms. A sharp pain laced through my stomach and I realized just exactly what was going on. It must have been with him, Draco Malfoy was the other bond, the stronger bond. They must have been bonded both ways too for it to be so powerful even in its beginning stages. The bond that was slowly replacing mine. One person cannot have multiple bonds, it's just too much pressure on the soul. So the most powerful one takes over. Mine was weak from not being near her for so long, but it was also old and made with strong magic. What was this new bond? How did it happen?

_Would it eventually take over mine?_

My hands clenched tightly into fists at the thought. I would not let that happen. I could already feel my bond being strengthened, simply by being nearer to her. If I could get even closer… Bonds don't just work by physical proximity, but also mental and emotional. Draco Malfoy may be closer to her physically now, but even I know he would never even get closer to her mentally or emotionally. He's Draco Malfoy; she was only Hermione Granger, mudblood and mostly likely enemy to him before. But I… I can get close to her… in _every_ way. My hands unclenched as a plan began to form in my mind.

I watched as two continued through the door.

For right now I would lie low. Explore a little. See how I can work this rather _interesting_ situation to my advantage in more ways than one. I will get closer to her once more. Closer to the girl who has basically been my _life_ from 9 to 16.

**

* * *

**

I walked into the lesser-known inn, The Crescent Moon. Though the Tiger Lily was ideal, I didn't want myself known just yet. I needed somewhere a bit more… _secluded_ than there. Somewhere that wasn't so… in tune with its resident's… _actions_.

"Hello, I'm Emily. How may I help you today sir," the girl at the counter said. She had a soft voice, her light brown hair falling into her face a bit as she looked shyly down. I leaned over the counter, catching her eye. I gave her a disarming smile. Another one of my specialty traits.

"Hello Emily, I'm Alexander," I said just as softly, though my tone held none of her shy, naivety. The sinister undertone of my whisper was enough to make her tense slightly, yet send a tingling shiver down her neck. "I was wondering if I could have room." The girl blushed prettily, fumbling with the computer keyboard.

"Of course, Mr. Alexander. May I ask how long you will be staying?" she questioned, her wide brown eyes blinking up innocently at me. Ah, how I loved the feeling of power I had over her. She could not even dream up the kinds of things I could do to her. I smirked.

"Indefinitely."


End file.
